Pride of Family

“From the moment I read the words [my great-grandmother] Frances Anne Rollin wrote in Boston on January 1, 1868—“The year renews its birth today with all its hopes and sorrows”—she became my beacon, the foremother who would finally share with me our collective past . . . —From the Preface

Originally published to rave reviews, Pride of Family is the dazzling true story of an upper middle-class African American clan—and four generations of extraordinary women. Carole Ione, rebel daughter from a long line of rebel daughters, traces her heritage from her mother, Leighla, a sad and lovely journalist, actress, and composer; to glamorous grandmother Be-Be, the popular restaurateur and former showgirl; to upright great-aunt Sistonie, one of Washington’s first black female physicians; and, finally, to great-grandmother Frances Anne Rollin, the indomitable feminist-abolitionist. It is through her great-grandmother’s brilliant diaries that Ione finds enlightenment—a deep connection to the women she cherishes and the proud, glorious history they share.