The Englewood Review of Books
Best Books of 2023
Advent Calendar
December 13
How Far to the Promised Land:
One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South
Esau McCaulley
Hardback: Convergent, 2023
Buy Now: [ BookShop ] [ Amazon ] [ Kindle ] [ Audible ]
“With uncompromising honesty and deep introspection, McCaulley complicates the narrative of ‘overcoming racism and poverty as a hero.’ . . . Powerful and necessary.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
McCaulley’s writings are a reminder about the damage that a lack of curiosity toward others does in our communities. The assumptions we make about others allow us to paint our brothers and sisters with broad, inaccurate, and life-threatening strokes. As McCaulley says about growing up during the era where black women were viciously labeled “welfare queens” by President Reagan, “Living as a stereotype taught me a valuable lesson: if people were wrong about my mother and her challenges, then they were also probably wrong about me and a host of other Black people they categorized and dismissed” (34).
– from our review by Rachel Lonas,
[ READ the full review ]
*** LISTEN to a podcast conversation with Esau McCaulley about this book …
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