My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir | 
so-soI wish I had been in NYC when reading this. It captured a certain time and place. It was balanced between Ms.Harris‘s experiences, friends and the politics, culture and food that brought them together. She was able to reveal aspects of her relationships with women that mentored and befriended her and it would have been satisfying and touching to have had that same insight into her romantic relationship with Sam as well. Overall a unique memoir!
so-soGolly, this woman is bougie! I don't think I would like her in real life, but she sure has an amazing story to tell. I wish she would have opened herself up more to the amazing people in her life. It felt like she was just a “fly on the wall“ and not an active participant in the group.
If you want to read about someone who was in the room or “ a friend of a friend“ of James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, etc... this is your book.
so-soThis was an interesting memoir about the life of the author as it intertwined with the circle of friends surrounding James Baldwin and later Maya Angelou. It is also about her relationship with the enigmatic Sam. It wasn‘t exactly my cup of tea, and I enjoyed the last half more than the first, but it was an enjoyable read. Counting for bought or borrowed in 2019 for #ReadingWomen Challenge
This is a fascinating read because her life was extremely privileged as an African-American in those times, and it's not often you hear about the "other side" of the black community in anything. However, she writes with a bit of arrogance and is a constant name dropper without the details of the intimate conversations she's had with these authors. I still recommend it, but beware the ego.
bailedThis book is written well, but it's way out of my knowledge base. I'm struggling to understand a lot of the references, so my understanding of Jessica B. Harris' story is fragmented at best. This would be a really enjoyable book for someone who is familiar with the geography and history of NYC and the socialites of the 1970s.
Release date: May 9, 2017
DNF @ 35%
#ARC #netgalley
Today's reading: this memoir about NYC in the early 1970s. #ARC #netgalley
Must stop browsing Netgalley. I will never get caught up!
pickI will admit I had to look up who Jessica B Harris was and it then made sense why every chapter ends with a recipe. This memoir walks a fine line between simple name drops and great stories of a who's who of famous NY African American authors of the 70s. She knew a whole slew of authors who were her contemporaries and friends. Great memoir, even though I wanted a touch more stories.
I read Harris' memoir this week and loved it, could relate to many parts of it and envied most of the rest! She mentioned this 1969 cookbook and neighborhood restaurant guide, and it just came in the mail! One of my favorite forms of time travel.
