Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?: From the Projects to Prep School

Lyles, Charlise

ISBN 10: 0571198368 / ISBN 13: 9780571198368

Published by Faber & Faber, 1994

Seller Inventory # 0571198368-3-34585224

Synopsis:

Charlise Lyles was born in 1959, on the cusp of a new era for African-Americans. She came of age as the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy stirred blacks and whites to right the racial wrongs of the past, although their individual voices had been silenced. In this vivid memoir, Lyles describes how the programs and policies that emerged from the civil rights movement affected her and her family.
Lyles watched as race riots and a river burned in Cleveland. When the ashes cooled, her family was one of the first to move into Cleveland's King-Kennedy Homes public housing project in 1969. Through the eyes of childhood and adolescence, Lyles portrays their years there against a backdrop of weekly black militant demonstrations, the rise and fall of Cleveland's first black mayor, and mounting violence and despair.
At the same time, she traces her ascent from "the slow class" to an elite suburban prep school, showing how programs from Head Start to A Better Chance could open doors for those with the good fortune to find them and the courage to go through. Finally, Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? shares Lyles's search for her long absent father, a quest that culminates in confusion and enlightenment, anger and love.
Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? shows how the triumphs and failures of the civil rights era converged in Lyles's life while drawing a compelling portrait of the girl she was and the woman she became.

Review: A memoir told through evocative language and with clear-eyed precision. Lyles writes about her experiences with both America's mid-20th-century urban racial dysfunction and her own intellectual blooming . . . This is essential reading for all American teens. -- Book Reviewer "School Library Journal"

Lyles' story is a moving one indeed . . . a solid piece on those who faced challenges during the civil rights era. -- Book Reviewer "Midwest Book Review"

Lyles paints a detailed, thoughtful picture of race relations in the 1970s and, in so doing, demands that we continue to examine these same important issues as we move into the future. Highly recommended. -- Book Reviewer "Small Press Reviews"

Lyles straddles multiple worlds as she comes of age, and her longing for the attention of a feckless father registers on every page. Her clear, detail-rich memoir shows how she constructed an identity. -- Book Reviewer "The Plain Dealer"

A fascinating literary memoir from the viewpoint of a little girl who did dare to disturb the universe she was born into . . . Lyles has given a vivid picture, one laced with generosity, humor and insight, of growing up poor without giving up. -- Book Reviewer "The Morning Journal"

A fascinating literary memoir from the viewpoint of a little girl who did dare to disturb the universe she was born into . . . Lyles has given a vivid picture, one laced with generosity, humor and insight, of growing up poor without giving up.--Laura Kennelly"Morning Journal" (12/14/2008)

Lyles speaks to the experiences many of us have of growing up Black. She touches on issues of having an estranged parent, the wealth of living in poverty, navigating two very different social universes and finding one's proper place.--Vanessa Jones"Call & Post" (02/05/2009)

Lyles straddles multiple worlds as she comes of age, and her longing for the attention of a feckless father registers on every page. Her clear, detail-rich memoir shows how she constructed an identity--before graduating from Smith College and eventually returning to Cleveland.--Karen Long"The Plain Dealer" (05/31/2009)

An enthralling slice-of-life look at what the city once was, what it has become, and what life was like and continues to be for those in the forgotten projects . . . The politics of racial equality--the black militants that brought order to the projects vs. the idealism of her mother--tumble within Lyles as she grapples with what it is to be an Afro-American woman . . . An engrossing read and highly recommended.--Akhirnya Akhirnya"Pajiba.com" (02/07/2011)

Bibliographic Details

Title: Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?: From the ...
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Publication Date: 1994
Binding: hardcover
Condition: Good