All results / Stories / Terri Schlichenmeyer
"Never Caught” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Some days, it feels like that’s all you do. Run the kids to school, dash to work, rush with errands, and run yourself ragged before bed. You’re always on the go, always moving, and in the new book “Never Caught” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, your breath isn’t the only thing to catch.
“Washington Black” by Esi Edugyan
You need to get out of here. You don’t know where. You just have to go to another room, maybe, or another building, another town, across the world. You need to get out of here but, as in the new novel “Washington Black” by Esi Edugyan, be careful, and mindful that you don’t run away from yourself. Big Kit was going to kill him.
“Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America” by Candacy Taylor
Your tickets have been purchased. Reservations were made in your name and all that’s left is packing. Yep, you’re heading out for the weekend, a week, a month, gone on the trip of a lifetime and as you’ll see in “Overground Railroad” by Candacy Taylor, it’s a trip your grandparents might’ve been denied.
“We’re Going to Need More Wine” by Gabrielle Union
Here’s to us. A toast to our years together, our friendships, things we’ve done and laughs we’ve had. Here’s to us – together forever. We need to do this more often. We need to stay in touch. As author Gabrielle Union says, “We’re Going to Need More Wine.” When she was still a small child, Gabrielle Union knew how life kept score.
“The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.” by Jason Sokol
One minute. That’s all it can take to change history. Sixty seconds, as long as an average TV commercial or two, a few blinks of your eyes and nothing is ever the same. And things can keep changing, as you’ll see in the new book “The Heavens Might Crack” by Jason Sokol.
“What God is Honored Here?” edited by Shannon Gibney and Kao Kalia Yang
You’re doing okay. Shaky, most days, and you can’t stop crying but you’re doing okay. Thanks for asking, although nobody ever really wants to know. They look away, up or down or anywhere but at the truth: you’ve lost a baby but in “What God is Honored Here?” edited by Shannon Gibney and Kao Kalia Yang, you’ll find sisterhood.
“The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row” by Anthony Ray Hardin with Lara Love Hardin
You always keep your eyes on the prize. You’ve given yourself no other options and your steadfastness is your compass. What you believe will happen. What you know is truth. Say it enough, and everybody else will know, too – especially when, as in the new book “The Sun Does Shine” by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin, the truth is one of innocence.
“Broke: Hardship and Resilience in a City of Broken Promises” by Jodie Adams Kirshner, foreword by Michael Eric Dyson
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. And you know how that went for him. The Royal Soldiers and a bunch of ponies couldn’t help him and you can only imagine what happened next: as in the new book “Broke: Hardship and Resilience in a City of Broken Promises” by Jodie Adams Kirshner, everything got scrambled.
“What Truth Sounds Like” by Michael Eric Dyson
“We have to talk.” It’s never good when someone tells you that. Even if it’s said with a smile and a pat on the back, you can feel doom in those words. “We have to talk” never helps anyone except when, as in “What Truth Sounds Like” by Michael Eric Dyson, it does.
“You Can’t Go Wrong Doing Right: How a Child of Poverty Rose to the White House and Helped Change the World” by Robert J. Brown
Do unto others. Three words that are a shorthand reminder to be nice and treat people in the manner that you’d want to be treated. Do unto others and make life smoother. Be good, and be of service because, as Robert J. Brown reminds readers, “You Can’t Do Wrong Doing Right.”
“Keep Your Airspeed Up: The Story of a Tuskegee Airman” by Harold H. Brown with Marsha S. Bordner
In things of great importance, you stand on the shoulders of giants. Those who came before you gave you a boost to get you where you are. They cleared your path and knocked aside obstacles. You stand on the shoulders of those giants even if, as in the new book “Keep Your Airspeed Up” by Harold H. Brown (with Marsha S. Bordner), the giant was once kinda scrawny.
Black History Books for Adults
The month of February has whipped by so fast that you almost missed it.
“Surrounded by Idiots” by Thomas Erikson
Every day of the week, you want to pound your head against your desk.
“The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir” by D. Watkins
Everything has a price. You say you’ll never sell your granddad’s watch, your dream car, or that collectible you coveted because it’s priceless – until it’s not, because everything is for sale. But in “The Cook-Up” by D. Watkins, it may cost your entire life.
“Be Free or Die” by Cate Lineberry
It was a Sure Thing. A can’t-miss, a safe bet that you couldn’t possibly fail – or could you? Isn’t there always a danger of losing in a gamble, or at least not winning? What kind of odds would make you take a risky bet? As in the new book “Be Free or Die” by Cate Lineberry, would you put your family’s lives on the line?
“Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, A Monumental American Man” by Tonya Bolden
You’re not backing down. There’s a line in the sand and nobody’s crossing it on your watch. When something isn’t right and you can fix it, you’re going to defend it, too, even if it costs you. As you’ll see in “Facing Frederick” by Tonya Bolden, if you lived in the mid-1800s, you’d be in good company.
“American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment” by Shane Bauer
You cannot escape. You’re stuck where you are and, though you’ll rail and squirm, resist and rant, you decide in the end that there’s little you can do but wait the situation out. Whether it’s in mind or in body, welcome to confinement. As you’ll see in “American Prison” by Shane Bauer, you’d best hope you’re on the right side of the bars.
“Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine” by Kelley Fanto Deetz
You’ve been cooking up a storm for days. Soon, the whole family will be sitting at your table, which will be loaded down with everybody’s favorites. The turkey will be golden. The bread, warm and soft. Pies line your kitchen counter because you’ve cooked for days. At least, as you’ll see in “Bound to the Fire” by Kelley Fanto Deetz, you didn’t cook ‘round the clock, too.
