Register Here
The AAMI/Next Page Books Well-Read Black Girl book club will continue with a discussion of That Kind of Mother by Akwaeke Emezi. Read on for a description from the publisher:
Like many first-time mothers, Rebecca Stone finds herself both deeply in love with her newborn son and deeply overwhelmed. Struggling to juggle the demands of motherhood with her own aspirations and feeling utterly alone in the process, she reaches out to the only person at the hospital who offers her any real help—Priscilla Johnson—and begs her to come home with them as her son’s nanny.
Priscilla’s presence quickly does as much to shake up Rebecca’s perception of the world as it does to stabilize her life. Rebecca is white, and Priscilla is black, and through their relationship, Rebecca finds herself confronting, for the first time, the blind spots of her own privilege. She feels profoundly connected to the woman who essentially taught her what it means to be a mother. When Priscilla dies unexpectedly in childbirth, Rebecca steps forward to adopt the baby. But she is unprepared for what it means to be a white mother with a black son. As she soon learns, navigating motherhood for her is a matter of learning how to raise two children whom she loves with equal ferocity, but whom the world is determined to treat differently.
Written with the warmth and psychological acuity that defined his debut, Rumaan Alam has crafted a remarkable novel about the lives we choose, and the lives that are chosen for us.
This is a free event open to the public, but registration is requested to help us plan for space and refreshments. Get a 20% off discount on That Kind of Mother at Next Page Books when you present your registration confirmation.
The Well-Read Black Girl movement started as an Instagram account created by author Glory Edim and has grown into a thriving online community and Brooklyn-based festival celebrating the literary contributions of black women. The AAMI book club will meet monthly to discuss selected books by women of color. Book selections will range in genre and theme and will be available to purchase at Next Page Books.
