"Dazzling essays on faith, family and being a Black woman in America that explore what we do with the legacies we inherit, the faith that shapes our responses, and how we rebuild our stories for those who come after us--from the author of the popular blog Black Coffee with White Friends. On her blog, Marcie Alvis-Walker creates spaces for conversations about cultural norms, race, faith, and womanhood that encourage readers to unburden themselves from...

"Rob Henderson, a doctoral candidate in social psychology at Cambridge, reflects on his childhood in foster care, how he narrowly escaped a broken system, and the only hope for disenfranchised kids across America: family"--

"Rich Paul grew up in a Cleveland that hadn't won a sports championship in decades. He and his siblings lived with their mother, who struggled with addiction, in a one-bedroom apartment in the poverty-stricken Glenville neighborhood. Young Rich dreamed of becoming a star athlete but realized quickly that his small stature would make it nearly impossible. A serious child with a mind for detail, he went to private school and then college at his shop-owner...

What is the true source of spiritual freedom? Faced with the impending loss of her mother just as her new start on life is beginning, Sherry Sidoti chooses to lean in to the memories homed in her body, turn to her yoga and mindfulness practice, and forge forward with self-awareness in an attempt to answer one of life's most elusive questions.

"In a tough neighborhood on the outskirts of Toronto, miles away from wealthy white downtown, Omer Aziz struggles to find his place as a first-generation Pakistani Muslim boy. He fears the violence and despair of the world around him, and sees a dangerous path ahead, succumbing to aimlessness, apathy, and rage. In his senior year of high school, Omer quickly begins to realize that education can open up the wider world. But as he falls in love with...

"A profound and gripping memoir by Nicole Walters, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants who became a self-made multi-millionaire by showing others how to recognize their own strengths-and her own harrowing journey to the discovery that she was worthy all along of the life of her dreams"-- As the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, Walters was raised by parents who emphasized education and hustle but themselves lived a life of lack. In response, she developed...

"In the late 1980s on the Jersey shore, Jane Wong watches her mother shake ants from an MSG bin behind the family's Chinese restaurant. She is a hungry daughter frying crab rangoon for lunch, a child sneaking naps on bags of rice, a playful sister scheming to trap her brother in the freezer before he traps her first. Jane is part of a family staking their claim to the American dream, even as this dream crumbles. Beneath Atlantic City's promise lies...

"At the turn of the new millennium, LA is the place to be. "Hipster" is a new word on the scene. Lauren Conrad is living her Cinderella story in the "Hills" on millions of television sets across the country. Paris Hilton tells us "That's hot" from behind the biggest sunglasses imaginable, while beautiful teenagers fight and fall in love on The O.C. Into this most glittering of supposed utopias, Kate Flannery arrives with a Seven Sisters diploma in...

"A lyrical memoir that begins in a quiet Vermont village with memories of Marilyn's parents, who own a popular restaurant and lively night spot that sits next to their home. While her mother disappears into addiction, Marilyn grapples with feelings of abandonment, though she recalls being uplifted by the village, by her dreams, and by the kindness of others. In young adulthood, she lands on a beautiful estate known as Shelburne Farms, where she helps...

"Scouted by a modeling agent when she was just sixteen years old, Cameron Russell first approached her job with some reservations: She was a precocious and serious student with her sights set on college-not the runway. But it was a job, and modeling seemed to offer young women like herself access to wealth, fame, and influence. Besides, as she was often reminded, "there are a million girls in line" who would eagerly replace her. A ferocious, visceral...