Product Description
In America, Mother = White
That's what Nefertiti, a single African American woman, discovered when she decided she wanted to adopt a black baby boy out of the foster care system. Eager to finally join the motherhood ranks, Nefertiti was shocked when people started asking her why she wanted to adopt a "crack baby" or said that she would never be able to raise a black son on her own. She realized that American society saw motherhood through a white lens, and that there would be no easy understanding or acceptance of the kind of family she hoped to build.
Motherhood So White is the story of Nefertiti's fight to create the family she always knew she was meant to have and the story of motherhood that all American families need now. In this unflinching account of her parenting journey, Nefertiti examines the history of adoption in the African American community, faces off against stereotypes of single, black motherhood, and confronts the reality of raising children of color in racially charged, modern-day America.
Honest, vulnerable, and uplifting, Motherhood So White reveals what Nefertiti knew all along—that the only requirement for a successful family is one raised with love.
That's what Nefertiti, a single African American woman, discovered when she decided she wanted to adopt a black baby boy out of the foster care system. Eager to finally join the motherhood ranks, Nefertiti was shocked when people started asking her why she wanted to adopt a "crack baby" or said that she would never be able to raise a black son on her own. She realized that American society saw motherhood through a white lens, and that there would be no easy understanding or acceptance of the kind of family she hoped to build.
Motherhood So White is the story of Nefertiti's fight to create the family she always knew she was meant to have and the story of motherhood that all American families need now. In this unflinching account of her parenting journey, Nefertiti examines the history of adoption in the African American community, faces off against stereotypes of single, black motherhood, and confronts the reality of raising children of color in racially charged, modern-day America.
Honest, vulnerable, and uplifting, Motherhood So White reveals what Nefertiti knew all along—that the only requirement for a successful family is one raised with love.
Reviews/Praise
"She [Johnson] has good voice quality, diction, and timing, selectively changing the pitch of her voice to distinguish characters. The sincerity in her voice is inspiring, and does justice to the book and enhances its impact.” —Booklist
"Eye-opening, trenchant book, which helps to bolster the scant literature for African American adoptive parents that Austin has pioneered by blogging for publications such as MUTHA magazine and the Huffington Post...Austin's experiences, both positive and negative, are recounted in this fast-paced, heartwarming memoir of motherhood and adoption told through an African American lens." —Library Journal Starred Review
"In this timely, insightful memoir, novelist Austin examines adoption and child-rearing as a single black woman confronting gender and racial bias...juxtaposing tender mother-child moments with the dangers facing African-American boys, Austin captures both the love and fear of her parenting experience in this powerful, spirited narrative." — Publishers Weekly
"A moving and necessary corrective to the primarily white narrative on adoption." —Booklist