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The dragons, the giant, the women : a memoir / by Moore, Wayétu,author.;
"When Wayétu Moore turns five years old, her father and grandmother throw her a big birthday party at their home in Monrovia, Liberia, but all she can think about is how much she misses her mother, who is working and studying in faraway New York. Before she gets the reunion her father promised her, war breaks out in Liberia. The family is forced to flee their home on foot, walking and hiding for three weeks until they arrive in the village of Lai. Finally, a rebel soldier smuggles them across the border to Sierra Leone, reuniting the family and setting them off on yet another journey, this time to the United States. Spanning this harrowing journey in Moore's early childhood, her years adjusting to life in Texas as a black woman and an immigrant, and her eventual return to Liberia, The Dragons, the Giant, the Women is a deeply moving story of the search for home in the midst of upheaval. Moore has a novelist's eye for suspense and emotional depth, and this unforgettable memoir is full of imaginative, lyrical flights and lush prose. In capturing both the hazy magic and stark realities of what is becoming an increasingly pervasive experience, Moore shines a light on the great political and personal forces that continue to affect many migrants around the world, and calls us all to acknowledge the tenacious power of love and family"--
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Biographies.; Moore, Wayétu.; African American women authors; Refugees; Immigrants; Liberian Americans; Families;

As the Earth Dreams Black Canadian Speculative Stories [electronic resource] : by Mason Pierre, Terese.; CloudLibrary;
A ground-breaking anthology of haunting speculative stories by contemporary Black Canadian writers that explore growth, futurity, and joy. Edited by esteemed poet Terese Mason Pierre, this bold and innovative anthology of speculative short fiction reveals and uplifts the spectacular imaginings, reveries, reflections, experiments, and hopes of Black writers in Canada. A masseuse attends her mother’s fourth funeral, only to encounter family she’s never met. A postdoc instructor navigates an almost-life in an Elsewhere realm of safety and comfort. After societal collapse, an immigrant leaves her precarious station, and her memories, behind. A woman isolating from a new virus starts hallucinating. A young nanny accepts a job with a peculiar employer in search of immortality. A medium is tasked with summoning a spirit that hits too close to home. And two teenagers test a friendship over magic carpet flying practice. These ten breathtaking stories explore natural and urban landscapes, living and dead relationships, economic catastrophe, love, and desire—all while celebrating the persistent and ever-changing self, and envisioning beautiful Black futures. Featuring stories by: Trynne Delaney francesca ekwuyasi Whitney French Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga Chimedum Ohaegbu Suyi Davies Okungbowa Chinelo Onwualu Lue Palmer Terese Mason Pierre Zalika Reid-BentaGeneral adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; African American; Collections & Anthologies;
© 2025., House of Anansi Press Inc,

Bad motherf**ker : the life and movies of Samuel L. Jackson, the coolest man in Hollywood / by Edwards, Gavin,1968-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.A fascinating exploration and celebration of the life and work of the coolest man in Hollywood, Samuel L. Jackson--from his star-making turns in the films of Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino to his ubiquitous roles in the Star Wars and Marvel franchises, not to mention the cult favorite Snakes on a Plane. Samuel L. Jackson's embodiment of cool isn't just inspirational-it's important. Bad Motherfucker lays out how his attitude intersects with his identity as a Black man, why being cool matters in the modern world, and how Jackson can guide us through the current cultural moment in which everyone is losing their cool. Edwards details Jackson's fascinating personal history, from stuttering bookworm to gunrunning revolutionary to freebasing addict to A-list movie star. Drawing on original reporting and interviews, the book explores not only the major events of Jackson's life but also his obsessions: golf, kung fu movies, profanity. Bad Motherfucker features a delectable filmography of Jackson's movies--140 and counting!--and also includes new movie posters for many of Jackson's greatest roles, reimagined by dozens of gifted artists and designers. The book provides a must-read road map through the vast territory of his on-screen career and more: a vivid portrait of Samuel L. Jackson's essential self, as well as practical instructions, by example, for how to live and work and be.
Subjects: Biographies.; Jackson, Samuel L.; African American motion picture actors and actresses; Motion picture actors and actresses;

Backflash [graphic novel] / by Johnson, Mat,author.; Lieber, Steve,illustrator.; Loughridge, Lee,colourist.; Robins, Clem,1955-letterer.; Rogers, Tom(Illustrator),illustrator.;
"Overwhelmed with grief over the death of his mother, shamed by his failures in marriage and fatherhood, and burdened by massive debt, Devin's life is spiraling out of control. That is, until he discovers the impossible: nostalgia is his superpower. With a random touch of family memorabilia, he can travel back in time, mentally, reliving the best moments of his past while finding relief from the present. With his mother gone, Devin can now investigate her greatest secret: the identity of the father he never knew. But the more Devin "backflashes" into time, the faster his present life falls apart. On this hunt for a truth that was never supposed to come to light, Devin must come to terms with his past if he wants any chance at a future"--
Subjects: Science fiction comics.; Time-travel comics.; Graphic novels.; Ability; African Americans; Family secrets; Nostalgia; Time travel;

Happy Land [electronic resource] : by Perkins-Valdez, Dolen.aut; CloudLibrary;
A woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom—and her family’s ties to it—in this enthralling novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of Take My Hand. Named a Most Anticipated book of 2025 by People ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ PopSugar ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ SheReads ∙ Woman’s World ∙ BookBrowse ∙ and more! Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can. But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen. It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale—royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away. Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Historical; Contemporary Women;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,

We rip the world apart / by Carr, Charlene,author.;
"A sweeping multi-generational story about motherhood, race and secrets in the lives of three women, perfect for readers of Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half and David Chariandy's Brother. When 24-year-old Kareela discovers she's pregnant with a child she isn't sure she wants, it amplifies her struggle to understand her place in the world as a woman who is half-Black and half-white, yet feels neither. Her mother, Evelyn, fled to Canada with her husband and their first-born child, Antony, during the politically charged Jamaican Exodus of the 1980s, only to realize they'd come to a place where Black men are viewed with suspicion--a constant and pernicious reality Evelyn watches her husband and son navigate daily. Years later, in the aftermath of Antony's murder by the police, Evelyn's mother-in-law, Violet, moves in, offering young Kareela a link to the Jamaican heritage she has never fully known. Despite Violet's efforts to help them through their grief, the traumas they carry grow into a web of secrets that threatens the very family they all hold so dear. Back in the present, Kareela, prompted by fear and uncertainty about the new life she carries, must come to terms with the mysteries surrounding her family's past and the need to make sense of both her identity and her future. Weaving the women's stories across multiple timelines, We Rip the World Apart reveals the ways that simple choices, made in the heat of the moment and with the best of intentions, can have deeper repercussions than could ever have been imagined, especially when people remain silent."--
Subjects: Domestic fiction.; Psychological fiction.; Novels.; African American women; Families; Family secrets; Identity (Psychology); Intergenerational relations; Pregnant women; Racially mixed people; Secrecy; Women;

Walking in my joy : stories from on my way to happy / by Lewis, Jenifer,1957-author.; Guerrero, Natalie,author.; Petok, Laurie,author.;
"A new offering from the author of the hugely successful Mother of Black Hollywood. Walking in My Joy is a collection of electric stories by the one and only, super hilarious Jenifer Lewis. Her commentary on what's happening in the world today, told through her outrageous real-life adventures, will have you laughing out loud, while her insightful messages touch your soul. A self-described "traveling fool and nature freak," Jenifer takes readers with her all over the world, from Cape Town to Bali; Washington, DC, to the Serengeti; Mongolia to St. Petersburg; and Argentina to Antarctica to demonstrate how she walks in her joy by seeking pleasure in everyday encounters. Every step of the way you'll be doubled over with laughter as she faints at the Obamas' holiday party; awakens to a swollen face and has to go to the hospital during the height of the Covid pandemic; an alien visitation; a successful takedown of a conman; as well as meeting a handsome Maasai warrior and being chased by a Cape buffalo. An actress, activist, and mental health advocate, Jenifer Lewis imparts ways to love yourself that will allow you to deflect negative energy and keep people who may come to take your joy in check. She stresses the importance of fully living to your greatest ambitions and taking the time to admire the world's natural gifts. She also encourages embracing each other's uniqueness as a way of finding societal healing. Walking in My Joy is a riveting and enthralling journey"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Lewis, Jenifer, 1957-; African American actresses; Manic-depressive persons;

Devil Is Fine A Novel [electronic resource] : by Vercher, John.aut; Graham, Dion.nrt; cloudLibrary;
This program is read by award-winning narrator Dion Graham. "Devil Is Fine is self-deprecatingly tender, often bracingly hilarious, and at its heart is a runaway train through the haunted house of us. And I loved it. Don't miss it." —Dion Graham From acclaimed novelist John Vercher, a profoundly moving novel of what it means to be a father, a son, a writer, and a biracial American fighting to reconcile the past Reeling from the sudden death of his teenage son, our narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of immediately selling the land. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is much more than he can process in the throes of grief. As a biracial Black man struggling with the many facets of his identity, he’s now the owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother’s side of the family. Vercher deftly blurs the lines between real and imagined, past and present, tragedy and humor, and fathers and sons in this story of discovery—and a fight for reclamation—of a painful past. With the wit of Paul Beatty’s The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Devil Is Fine is a darkly funny and brilliantly crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind and those we inherit. A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; African American; Magical Realism; Family Life;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,

Fifty words for rain : a novel / by Lemmie, Asha,author.;
"Kyoto, Japan, 1948. "If a woman knows nothing else, she should know how to be silent ... Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist." Such is eight-year-old Noriko "Nori" Kamiza's first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents' imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her shameful skin. The illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Though her grandparents take her in, they do so only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life for what it is, despite her natural intellect and nagging curiosity about what lies outside the attic's walls. But when chance brings her legitimate older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him the first person who will allow her to question, and the siblings form an unlikely but powerful bond-a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it-a battle that just might cost her everything."--Publisher's description.
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Racially mixed children; Family secrets; Japanese Americans; Illegitimate children; Aristocracy (Social class); Brothers and sisters;

The most wonderful time : a novel / by Allen, Jayne,1978-author.;
With Christmas around the corner, Ramona Tucker is desperate to get away. She has been lying to her family about her engagement to Malik, her (ex) fiancé. But breakups are fickle, and Ramona is convinced that she can make her pretend wedding real again--but only if she can avoid everyone discovering her secret at her mother's over-the-top Christmas Eve party. Two-thousand miles away in sunny Malibu, Chelsea Flint needs money to hold on to the beloved beachside cottage she shared with her late parents. The taxes are expensive, and her art isn't paying the bills. Once an irresistible star of the Los Angeles art scene, Chelsea seems to have lost that spark that vaulted her to the top. If she doesn't rediscover that magic--and sell a painting--soon, it will be her family's home she's selling instead. The two women swap homes, just in time, thanks to some careful planning by Ramona's best friend and a sturdy nudge from Chelsea's gallerist godmother. Ramona's Malibu dreams of sun and surf are interrupted as her first night brings an unwelcome stranger to her door, making her question who she can trust--the meddling neighbor Joan, or Jay, the handsome beachside fitness instructor with a secret of his own. Chelsea, desperate for Ramona to stay, hides what she knows--even if that means jeopardizing her budding connection with charming Carlos, whose dreams for his future could be the very key to unlock Chelsea from the weight of her past. Combining escapist fun and sizzling romance, a dose of poignant self-reflection, and a little holiday magic, The Most Wonderful Time is a warm and relatable novel that will delight at Christmas and throughout the year.
Subjects: Christmas fiction.; Romance fiction.; Novels.; Christmas stories; African American women; City and town life; Home exchanging; Interpersonal relations; Man-woman relationships; Secrecy; Women artists;