Always Wear Joy: My Mother Bold and Beautiful - Hardcover

Fales-Hill, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060523565 ISBN 13: 9780060523565

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003

Synopsis

Growing up with a black, Auntie Mame -- like mother who performed with the likes of Lena Horne and Alvin Ailey, and a WASP seafaring father, Susan Fales-Hill thought nothing of watching her mother, Josephine Premice, perform in an acclaimed Broadway musical one moment and fleeing to Faleton, her grandparents' summer estate, the next.

But it was from her mother -- a woman who was dressed by Givenchy and sculpted by Alexander Calder, yet rejected by many a casting agent for her "dark," unconventional looks -- that Susan drew inspiration, particularly when she faced challenges in her own career as a television writer in Hollywood, a town that wasn't always receptive to positive images of people of color. As a result, the two developed a bond that mothers and daughters everywhere will find inspiring.

Dazzling in their public lives and emotionally vulnerable in their private lives, there is not a person in this touching and, at times, funny family memoir that the reader will soon forget.

About this title

Review:

"[An] extraordinary story." -- Essence

"Moving and beautifully rendered." -- Town & Country

Moving and beautifully rendered. --Town & Country

[An] extraordinary story. --Essence

"A distinguished memoir as well as an important contribution to black cultural history."--Kirkus Reviews (Starred)

"[An] extraordinary story."--Essence

"This love-filled, uplifting book will gladden your heart, moisten your eyes, and leave you smiling at the end."--Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming: A Memoir

"Moving and beautifully rendered."--Town & Country

"At last, at last a memoir by a daughter who appreciates and loves her mother, at last."--Bill Cosby

"A moving tribute from a daughter to a mother [and] a book about the undefeatable spirit of black women everywhere."--E. Lynn Harris

About the Author:

Susan Fales-Hill is an award-winning television writer and producer. She has worked on shows ranging from The Cosby Show to A Different World, Linc's, and Suddenly Susan. Her writing has also appeared in Vogue, Town & Country, and Travel & Leisure. She lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0060523565
• ISBN 13: 9780060523565
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 275