Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts

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Author :
Publisher : Oya's Tornado
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 370 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts by : Teresa N. Washington

Download or read book Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts written by Teresa N. Washington and published by Oya's Tornado. This book was released on 2015-12-23 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Blazes a new trail in Africana literary criticism by providing an insight into the soul and spirit of Africana womanhood.” --Anthonia Kalu, The Ohio State University, author of Women, Literature, and Development in Africa This is the revised and expanded edition of Teresa N. Washington's groundbreaking book Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts: Manifestations of Aje in Africana Literature. In Yoruba language and culture, Aje signifies both a phenomenal spiritual power and the human beings who exercise that power. Aje is the birthright of Africana women who are revered as the Gods of Society. While Africana men can have Aje, its owners and controllers are Africana women. Because it is an African female power, and due to its invisibility, ubiquity, and profundity, Aje is often maligned as witchcraft. However, as Teresa N. Washington reveals in Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts, Aje is central to the Yoruba ethos, worldview, and cosmology. Not only is it essential to human creation and artistic creativity, but as a force of justice and retribution, Aje is vital to social harmony and balance. Washington analyzes forms, figures, and forces of Aje in the Yoruba world, in the Caribbean Islands, in Latin America, and in African America. Washington's research reveals that with the exile and enslavement of millions of Africans, Aje became a global force and an essential ally in organizing insurrections, soothing shattered souls, and reminding the dispossessed of their inherent divinity. From her in-depth exploration of Aje in Pan-African history and orature, Washington guides readers through rich analyses of the symbolic, methodological, and spiritual manifestations of Aje that are central to important works by Africana writers but are rarely elucidated by Western criticism. Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts includes innovative readings of works by many Africana writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Ben Okri, Wole Soyinka, Jamaica Kincaid, and Ntozake Shange. This revised and expanded edition of Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts will appeal to scholars of Africana literature, African religion and philosophy, gender studies, and comparative literature. Devotees of Africana spiritual systems will find this book to be indispensable.

Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780253217578
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (175 download)

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Book Synopsis Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts by : Teresa N. Washington

Download or read book Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts written by Teresa N. Washington and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Washington writes supple and thoughtful prose and creatively integrates African and African-derived terminology, which never distract the reader. I consider Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts not only a brilliant study, but also a model to be emulated." —Ousseynou B. Traore, William Patterson University Àjé is a Yoruba word that signifies a spiritual power of vast potential, as well as the human beings who exercise that power. Although both men and women can have Àjé, its owners and controllers are women, the literal and cosmic Mothers who are revered as the gods of society. Because of its association with female power, its invisibility and profundity, Àjé is often misconstrued as witchcraft. However, as Teresa N. Washington points out in Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts, Àjé is central to the Yoruba ethos and cosmology. Not only does it underpin the concepts of creation and creativity, but as a force of justice and retribution, Àjé is essential to social harmony and balance. As Africans were forced into exile and enslavement, they took Àjé with them and continued its work of creating, destroying, harming, and healing in the New World. Washington seeks out Àjé's subversive power of creation and re-creation in a diverse range of Africana texts, from both men and women, from both oral and contemporary literature, and across space and time. She guides readers to an understanding of the symbolic, methodological, and spiritual issues that are central to important works by Africana writers but are rarely elucidated by Western criticism. She begins with an examination of the ancient forms of Àjé in Yoruba culture, which creates a framework for innovative readings of important works by Africana writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Ben Okri, Wole Soyinka, Jamaica Kincaid, and Ntozake Shange. This rich analysis will appeal to readers of Africana literature, African religion and philosophy, feminist studies, and comparative literature.

The Architects of Existence

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Author :
Publisher : Oya's Tornado
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Architects of Existence by : Teresa N. Washington

Download or read book The Architects of Existence written by Teresa N. Washington and published by Oya's Tornado. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Ama Mazama

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Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1793628939
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (936 download)

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Book Synopsis Ama Mazama by : Molefi Kete Asante

Download or read book Ama Mazama written by Molefi Kete Asante and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-08-20 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ama Mazama: The Ogunic Presence in Africology is a critical analysis of the ideas of Ama Mazama, a prominent and leading female theorist in Africology and African American Studies. Molefe Asante studies the creative and productive power of Mazama’s intellectual work as it emerges from the personal wrestling with spiritual elements of consciousness as well as Mazama’s attention to ancestral and perhaps epigenetic relationships to African spirituality in the making of theory and practice. Painting a picture of an activist intellectual concerned as much with mental as well as spiritual liberation, Asante demonstrates how and why Ama Mazama has evolved into one of the most popular Africologists in the field.

Urgent Message from Mother

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Publisher : Conari Press
ISBN 13 : 1573243531
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (732 download)

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Book Synopsis Urgent Message from Mother by : Jean Shinoda Bolen

Download or read book Urgent Message from Mother written by Jean Shinoda Bolen and published by Conari Press. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In its original edition, this culmination of Jean Shinoda Bolen's life's work sold over 25,000 copies. Now in paperback for the first time Urgent Message from Mother is a call to action for all the women of the world. This unique combination of visionary thinking and practical how-to seeks to galvanize the power of women acting together in order to save our world. Bolen outlines the lessons we can learn from the women's movement, draws on Jungian psychology and the sacred feminine, and gives powerful examples of women coming together all over the globe and making a significant impact.

What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439127743
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us by : Danielle Crittenden

Download or read book What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us written by Danielle Crittenden and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-08-25 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Talk to women under forty today, and you will hear that in spite of the fact that they have achieved goals previous generations of women could only dream of, they nonetheless feel more confused and insecure than ever. What has gone wrong? What can be done to set it right? These are the questions Danielle Crittenden answers in What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us. She examines the foremost issues in women's lives -- sex, marriage, motherhood, work, aging, and politics -- and argues that a generation of women has been misled: taught to blame men and pursue independence at all costs. Happiness is obtainable, Crittenden says, but only if women will free their minds from outdated feminist attitudes. By drawing on her own experience and a decade of research and analysis of modern female life, Crittenden passionately and engagingly tackles the myths that keep women from realizing the happiness they deserve. And she introduces a new way of thinking about society's problems that may, at long last, help women achieve the lives they desire.

Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence

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Publisher : Oya's Tornado
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 416 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence by : Teresa N. Washington

Download or read book Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence written by Teresa N. Washington and published by Oya's Tornado. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence: Divinity in Africana Life, Lyrics, and Literature is a remarkable study and the first of its kind. Teresa N. Washington eschews popular culture’s pimp myths and thug sagas and traces the Africana man’s power, creativity, and consciousness to his inherent divinity. Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence takes the reader to the source of power with an analysis of African Divinities and divine technologies. Washington explores the permanence and proliferation of African Gods from oppressive plantations to the empowering proclamations of such leaders as W. D. Fard, Marcus Garvey, Father Divine, and Allah, the Father. Washington analyzes the summonses to and from the Gods that resonate in the music of such artists as Erykah Badu, The RZA, Sun Ra, X Clan, and Rakim. Using literary analysis as a prism to display the diversity of Africana divinity, Washington reveals the literature of such writers as August Wilson, Walter Mosley, Toni Morrison, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and Ishmael Reed to be three-way mirrors that eternally reflect and project the Gods, their myriad powers, and their weighty responsibilities. Manifestations of Masculine Magnificence will prove indispensable to independent scholars as well as scholars of Comparative Literature, Hip Hop Studies, Gender Studies, Africana Studies, Literary Criticism, and Religious Studies.

Oral Literature of the Maasai

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Publisher : East African Educational Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9966461736
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (664 download)

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Book Synopsis Oral Literature of the Maasai by : Kipuri, Naomi

Download or read book Oral Literature of the Maasai written by Kipuri, Naomi and published by East African Educational Publishers. This book was released on 2020-02-22 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oral Literature of the Maasai offers an extensive collection of types of oral literature: oral narratives; proverbs; riddles; and a variety of songs for different occasions. The versions in this book were collected by the author from a specific Maasai community in Kajiado County of Kenya. The author listened to many of the narratives and participated in many proverb and riddle telling sessions as she grew up in her Ilbissil village of Kajiado Central Sub-county. However, she recorded most of the examples of oral literature in the early seventies with the help of her mother, who performed the role of the oral artist. Many songs were recorded from live performances. The examples ring with individuality, while also revealing a comprehensive way of life of a people. The images in the literature reveal the concrete life of the Maasai – people living closely with their livestock and engaged in constant struggle with the environment. But like all important literature, the materials here ultimately reveal a people with its moral and spiritual concerns, grappling with questions of human values and relations, struggling for a better social order. This book recommends itself to the general reader. However, the book is more than this: it includes stimulating discussions of examples, as well as review questions and exercises. The book is highly recommended to students of oral literature at secondary school level and at the university.

Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70

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Author :
Publisher : Ayebia Clarke Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780956930705
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (37 download)

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Book Synopsis Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70 by : Anne V. Adams

Download or read book Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70 written by Anne V. Adams and published by Ayebia Clarke Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These essays pay tribute to Ama Ata Aidoo through a broad spectrum of articles and personal memoirs from scholars of different generations and from other literary artists. The book is intended to convey the full parameters of Aidoo's place as a literary innovator and as an exponent of radical social and cultural thought in Africa and internationally, especially on issues of African self-consciousness and gender equality. Consisting of over 30 contributions, the collection includes studies of some popular-culture phenomena, which, reflect social and cultural concerns.

The Usual Suspects

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Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 006279633X
Total Pages : 182 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (627 download)

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Book Synopsis The Usual Suspects by : Maurice Broaddus

Download or read book The Usual Suspects written by Maurice Broaddus and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fans of Jason Reynolds and Sharon M. Draper will love this oh-so-honest middle grade novel from writer and educator Maurice Broaddus. Thelonius Mitchell is tired of being labeled. He’s in special ed, separated from the “normal” kids at school who don’t have any “issues.” That’s enough to make all the teachers and students look at him and his friends with a constant side-eye. (Although his disruptive antics and pranks have given him a rep too.) When a gun is found at a neighborhood hangout, Thelonius and his pals become instant suspects. Thelonius may be guilty of pulling crazy stunts at school, but a criminal? T isn’t about to let that label stick.

Our Black Sons Matter

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 144226912X
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

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Book Synopsis Our Black Sons Matter by : George Yancy

Download or read book Our Black Sons Matter written by George Yancy and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-10-17 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our Black Sons Matter is a powerful collection of original essays, letters, and poems that addresses both the deep joys and the very real challenges of raising black boys today. From Trayvon Martin to Tamir Rice, the list of young black men who have suffered racial violence continues to grow. Young black people also deal with profound stereotypes and structural barriers. And yet, young black men are often paradoxically revered as icons of cultural cool. Our Black Sons Matter features contributions from women across the racial spectrum who are raising or have raised black sons—whether biologically their sons or not. The book courageously addresses painful trauma, challenges assumptions, and offers insights and hope through the deep bonds between mothers and their children. Both a collective testimony and a collective love letter, Our Black Sons Matter sends the message that black lives matter and speaks with the universal love of all mothers who fear for the lives of their children. Contributions by Jacki Lynn Baynks, Shelly Bell, Deborah Binkley-Jackson, Meta G. Carstarphen, LaMar Delandro, Gretchen Givens Generett, Jane Anna Gordon, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Maria del Guadalupe Davidson, Susan Hadley, Carol E. Henderson, Dawn Herd-Clark, Elisheba Johnson, Heather Johnson, Newtona (Tina) Johnson, Jane Lazarre, Sara Lomax-Reese, Tracey McCants Lewis, Nicole McJamerson, Michele Moody-Adams, Elisha Oliver, Blanche Radford-Curry, Autumn Redcross, Tracey Reed Armant, Noliwe Rooks, T. Denean, Sharpley-Whiting, Treasure Shields Redmond, Sharyn Skeeter, Becky Thompson, Linda D. Tomlinson, Dyan Watson, Veronica T. Watson, Regina Sims Wright, Karsonya Wise Whitehead, and George Yancy.

Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo

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Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN 13 : 1429956666
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

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Book Synopsis Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo by : Ntozake Shange

Download or read book Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo written by Ntozake Shange and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ntozake Shange's beloved Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is the story of three sisters and their mother from Charleston, South Carolina. "A jubilant celebration of womanhood—as moving as the moon . . . pure magic." --Kansas City Star Ntozake Shange's beloved Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is the story of three sisters and their mother from Charleston, South Carolina. Sassafrass, the oldest, is a poet and a weaver like her mother before her. Having gone north to college, she is now living with other artists in Los Angeles and trying to weave a life out of her work, her man, her memories and dreams. Cypress, the dancer, leaves home to find new ways of moving in the world. Indigo, the youngest, is still a child of Charleston-"too much of the south in her"-who lives in poetry and has the supreme gift of seeing the obvious magic of the world. Shange's rich and wondrous story of womanhood, art, and passionately-lived lives is written "with such exquisite care and beauty that anybody can relate to her message" (The New York Times).

New Criticism and Pedagogical Directions for Contemporary Black Women Writers

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Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1793606714
Total Pages : 343 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (936 download)

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Book Synopsis New Criticism and Pedagogical Directions for Contemporary Black Women Writers by : LaToya Jefferson-James

Download or read book New Criticism and Pedagogical Directions for Contemporary Black Women Writers written by LaToya Jefferson-James and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-03-03 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Criticism and Pedagogical Directions for Contemporary Black Women Writers spans the contemporary era into the AfroFuture. It begins with Ann Petry, who has been forcibly mashed into masculinized critical paradigms, and ends by introducing audiences to Black speculative and Science Fiction writers.

My Mother's Voice

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Publisher : Broadview Press
ISBN 13 : 1770481958
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis My Mother's Voice by : Adrienne Kertzer

Download or read book My Mother's Voice written by Adrienne Kertzer and published by Broadview Press. This book was released on 2001-12-11 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do children's books represent the Holocaust? How do such books negotiate the tension between the desire to protect children, and the commitment to tell children the truth about the world? If Holocaust representations in children's books respect the narrative conventions of hope and happy endings, how do they differ, if at all, from popular representations intended for adult audiences? And where does innocence lie, if the children's fable of Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful is marketed for adults, and far more troubling survivor memoirs such as Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War are marketed for children? How should Holocaust Studies integrate discourse about children's literature into its discussions? In approaching these and other questions, Kertzer uses the lens of children's literature to problematize the ways in which various adult discourses represent the Holocaust, and continually challenges the conventional belief that children's literature is the place for easy answers and optimistic lessons.

Are You My Mother?

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Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 13 : 0547524366
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (475 download)

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Book Synopsis Are You My Mother? by : Alison Bechdel

Download or read book Are You My Mother? written by Alison Bechdel and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times–bestselling graphic memoir about Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home, becoming the artist her mother wanted to be. Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home was a pop culture and literary phenomenon. Now, a second thrilling tale of filial sleuthery, this time about her mother: voracious reader, music lover, passionate amateur actor. Also a woman, unhappily married to a closeted gay man, whose artistic aspirations simmered under the surface of Bechdel's childhood…and who stopped touching or kissing her daughter good night, forever, when she was seven. Poignantly, hilariously, Bechdel embarks on a quest for answers concerning the mother-daughter gulf. It's a richly layered search that leads readers from the fascinating life and work of the iconic twentieth-century psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, to one explosively illuminating Dr. Seuss illustration, to Bechdel’s own (serially monogamous) adult love life. And, finally, back to Mother—to a truce, fragile and real-time, that will move and astonish all adult children of gifted mothers. A New York Times, USA Today, Time, Slate, and Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year “As complicated, brainy, inventive and satisfying as the finest prose memoirs.”—New York Times Book Review “A work of the most humane kind of genius, bravely going right to the heart of things: why we are who we are. It's also incredibly funny. And visually stunning. And page-turningly addictive. And heartbreaking.”—Jonathan Safran Foer “Many of us are living out the unlived lives of our mothers. Alison Bechdel has written a graphic novel about this; sort of like a comic book by Virginia Woolf. You won't believe it until you read it—and you must!”—Gloria Steinem

Deliberate Motherhood

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Author :
Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 1938301919
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (383 download)

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Book Synopsis Deliberate Motherhood by : The Power of Moms

Download or read book Deliberate Motherhood written by The Power of Moms and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The outstanding authors of Deliberate Motherhood have let the trials and hardships of motherhood mold them into better people. Whether the change includes learning patience when the two-year-old “paints” your walls with the black permanent marker, or forgiving a teenager who screams “I hate you,” or loving more when that naughty child doesn’t really deserve it, it’s a change that refines us—or as the dictionary describes it, “removes impurities, makes something more effective or become more elegant.” That is powerful! You may think that everything has been said about motherhood, but the delightful thing about Deliberate Motherhood is that every mother/author is one-of-a-kind. They each come from different backgrounds, have different parents, are married (or not) to different people, and certainly have “different” children. Each of the 12 “Powers” provided in this book is a crucial component to help you in your motherhood. And the best part is that you don’t need to do it all at once. You can focus on one “power” a month, and over the course of a year, you’ll see great changes in yourself and in your family. The mark of a great book is that it makes you think . . . and it helps you change . . . which in the case of this book, is an absolute guarantee!

Our Missing Hearts

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0593492552
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (934 download)

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Book Synopsis Our Missing Hearts by : Celeste Ng

Download or read book Our Missing Hearts written by Celeste Ng and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-10-04 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An instant New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 • Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more • A Reese's Book Club Pick • New York Times Paperback Row Selection From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes the inspiring new novel about a mother’s unshakeable love. “It’s impossible not to be moved.” —Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review “Riveting, tender, and timely.” —People, Book of the Week “Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching . . . I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story!” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick) Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. Then one day, Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will finally learn the truth about what happened to his mother, and what the future holds for them both. Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and the power of art to create change.