Overview

From cherished memories of childhood weekends with Nana to the reality of the year she spent “ladysitting,” Lorene Cary journeys through stories of their time together and five generations of their African American family. Weaving a narrative of her complicated relationship with Nana—a fiercely independent and often stubborn woman whose family fled the Jim Crow South and who managed her own business until 100—Cary captures the ruptures, love, and forgiveness that can occur in family as she bears witness to her grandmother’s vibrant life.

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9780393358230

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Reviews

A candid, sensitive memoir.... Thoughtful reflections on pain, love, and family. -- Kirkus Reviews With admiration, triumph, and love, Cary captures the universal experience of close family loss. -- Booklist A heartfelt, multifaceted story.... This reflective memoir steeped in love and forgiveness explores a devoted granddaughter's perceptions about her grandmother. -- Shelf Awareness Open the cover of Ladysitting, and you're immediately yanked into a story with an ending you already know.... One of the more deftly-written, truthful accounts in this genre. -- Terri Schlichenmeyer - Washington Informer [Cary] movingly portrays what it's like to care for a loved one. -- Elizabeth Sile - Real Simple Cary's chronicle of this centenarian (+1) is written with candor, warmth, and love. The final chapters are critical reading for anyone with an aging loved one at the end of their life. -- Betsy Lerner, author of The Bridge Ladies Rain dances nourishment from the soil Tears waltz love from the heart Sun dances a boogie woogie while Lorene Cary is Ladysitting with her Grandmother Question: Who brings the beer? -- Nikki Giovanni A dive into Cary's own history.... What resonates loudest in Ladysitting, however, is the love that Cary gives back to her grandmother. -- Dan Marshall - New York Times Book Review Ladysitting is boldly literate and a brilliant work of art.... A lyrical odyssey of the multiply-descended and cross-generational heritage of black diaspora in a strange land. -- Houston Baker, Distinguished University Professor, Vanderbilt University A thoroughly engaging memoir.... Cary invites readers into a complex extended family.... A distinctly American story. -- Martha Anne Toll - NPR

Author Information

Lorene Cary is author of the memoirs Ladysitting and Black Ice, three novels, and a book for young readers. She teaches at University of Pennsylvania and has written a one-act opera of Ladysitting and a play, My General Tubman. She lives in Philadelphia.

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