{"title":"Bernice L. McFadden","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBernice L. McFadden\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts deeply moving stories that explore the complexities of identity, history, and resilience. Her novels often delve into themes of family legacy and personal transformation, set against rich cultural backdrops with a lyrical touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlending elements of \u003cem\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eGeneral Fiction\u003c\/em\u003e, McFadden’s work invites readers into intimate, carefully drawn worlds where memory and emotion intertwine. Expect narratives that linger long after the final page.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"firstborn-girls-by-bernice-l-mcfadden-9781784744434","title":"Firstborn Girls","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA gripping memoir entwined with generations of women whose lives illuminate a century of Black American history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRiveting... one of America's most creative and necessary writers\u003c\/em\u003e - SAPPHIRE\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFirstborn Girls\u003c\/em\u003e is a memoir about four generations of women whose lives illuminate a century of American history, by the author of Richard and Judy Book Club pick \u003cem\u003eSugar\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOn her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died. She was in a car crash on the motorway turnoff to Detroit. For a few minutes, she was clinically dead. From the moment of her resuscitation, we follow a remarkable life, all the way up to the publication of her first novel, \u003cem\u003eSugar\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 80s Brooklyn, growing up in terror of her alcoholic father, young Bernice loses herself in books. But it's not until she reads Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, stories about 'messy, beautiful, joyful Black people' so reminiscent of her loved ones, that she sees herself within their pages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBernice's family story begins in Sandersville, Georgia, with freedwoman Louisa Vicey Wilson in 1870. Her descendants survived Reconstruction, Jim Crow, joined the 'great migration', cried when Dr King was assassinated during The Civil Rights Movement. Wisdom, secrets, and fierce love are passed down through generations of women like Lou's handmade quilt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTracing her roots gives Bernice the strength to write her own story. A memoir of many threads, \u003cem\u003eFirstborn Girls\u003c\/em\u003e is an extraordinarily moving account of a life shaped both by family history and a drive to be something more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMcFadden's ability to tell a story makes this one of the most engrossing memoirs I have read in a long time... People will talk about these First Born Girls for years to come!\u003c\/em\u003e - TARANA BURKE, activist and author of \u003cem\u003eUnbound\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRemarkable... Firstborn Girls is an absolute treasure\u003c\/em\u003e - DEESHA PHILYAW, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46627227762924,"sku":"9781784744434","price":36.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781784744434.jpg?v=1751934708"},{"product_id":"the-warmest-december-by-bernice-l-mcfadden-9781617750359","title":"The Warmest December","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuoyed by the lyrical redemptive voice that characterises McFadden's writing, \u003cem\u003eThe Warmest December\u003c\/em\u003e tells the powerful, deeply moving story of one Brooklyn family and the alcoholism and abuse that marked the years of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNarrated by Kenzie Lowe, the story moves fluidly between the past and the present as she visits her dying father and finds that choices she once thought were beyond her control are very much hers to make.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Warmest December\u003c\/em\u003e is ultimately a cathartic tale of hope, healing and forgiveness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47603326812396,"sku":"9781617750359","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781617750359-the-warmest-december.jpg?v=1778059930"},{"product_id":"the-book-of-harlan-by-bernice-l-mcfadden-9781636142838","title":"The Book of Harlan","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/em\u003e is a celebrated novel that has received multiple accolades:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWinner of a 2017 American Book Award\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWinner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e2017 Hurston\/Wright Legacy Award Nominee (Fiction)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Simply miraculous . . . As her saga becomes ever more spellbinding, so does the reader's astonishment at the magic she creates. This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, intolerance, and cruelty, and at the centre of \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/em\u003e is the restorative force that is music.\" - \u003cem\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/em\u003e opens with the courtship of Harlan's parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he eventually becomes a professional musician.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre—affectionately referred to as \"The Harlem of Paris\" by Black American musicians—Harlan jumps at the opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald—the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany—irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life. Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden's mesmeric prose, \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/em\u003e skilfully blends the stories of McFadden's familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244528087276,"sku":"9781636142838","price":35.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781636142838-the-book-of-harlan-1.jpg?v=1787999239"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/bernice-l-mcfadden.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}