Always Wear Joy : My Mother Bold and Beautiful
Author(s): Susan Fales-Hill
From an inside peek at the inner workings of Hollywood to the backstage drama of Broadway, from a poignant look at the black upper class to an honest look at the WASP elite, this elegantly wrought memoir of an extraordinary family has something for everyone.
Growing up with a black Auntie Mame-like mother (who performed with the likes of Lena Horne) and an Anglo sea-faring father, Susan Fales-Hill moved seamlessly between many worlds. But it was from her mother -- a woman who was dressed by Givenchy and sculpted by Alexander Calder, yet rejected by many a casting agent for her "dark," unconventional looks -- that Susan drew inspiration, particularly when she faced challenges in her own career as a television writer in Hollywood, a town that wasn't always receptive to positive images of people of color. As a result the two developed a bond that mothers and daughters everywhere will find inspiring. Both a universally touching mother-daughter story and a portrait of a dazzling American family, Always Wear Joy is a memoir readers won't soon forget.
Review(s):
“Moving and beautifully rendered.”
“A distinguished memoir as well as an important contribution to black cultural history.”
“At last, at last a memoir by a daughter who appreciates and loves her mother, at last.”
“[An] extraordinary story.”
“A daughter’s ode to her mother who showed her ‘infinity instead of . . .limitations.’ This is no Mommie Dearest.”
“A daughter’s ode to her mother who showed her ‘infinity instead of . . .limitations.’ This is no Mommie Dearest.”
“This love-filled, uplifting book will gladden your heart, moisten your eyes, and leave you smiling at the end.”
“A moving tribute from a daughter to a mother [and] a book about the undefeatable spirit of black women everywhere.”
ISBN: 9780060566722