12. Helene Cooper - The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood

[pauraque]

Born in Liberia and descended from the nation's founders, Helene Cooper lived there for 14 years as a member of the wealthy elite. She knew her homeland -- its unique history as a colony populated by former U.S. slaves, its sights, its tastes, its scents, its joys and its dangers. When Liberia's bloody coup d'etat finally came, Cooper had to leave

Comments

[browngirl]

I think there's often a racist tinge to that lack of context (oh look at those savage Africans fighting each other again), and this is a great antidote for that.

I have been looking for antidotes to that idea indeed, so thank you for this rec!

[pauraque]

It definitely opened my eyes to my own ignorance about African politics and history, and how the media oversimplifies things or doesn't explain them at all.

[zahrawithaz]

I'm not much of a memoir-reader, but I enjoyed this book, and very much agree with this review; it's lovely to see this memoir getting more attention here.

[pauraque]

I heard about it when LJ's question of the day was "What is the best book you've read this year?" and one of my friends named this book as hers. She and I have similar taste so I was very excited to read it, and I wasn't disappointed.