Mary Daniels Brown
My mother always insisted that, as soon as I was old enough to sit up, she’d find me in my crib after my nap babbling away, with a Little Golden Book on my lap. I’ve had my nose in a book ever since. I grew up in a small town, with the tiny town library literally in my backyard. As an only child in an unhappy home, I found comfort and companionship in books.
As an adult I wanted to be Harry Potter, although I admit I’m more Hermione. My life has been a series of research projects. Reading has taught me that human lives are deliciously messy and that “it’s complicated” isn’t a punchline.
I just read it. I’m in tears.
Me too, Liz, me too.
Jesmyn Ward is an incredible person. I heard her speak about Sing, Unburied, Sing at the Manchester Literature Festival 2 years ago (Festival write up here if you’re interested https://blog.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/2018/05/trauma-jesmyn-ward-conversation/). She has lived through so much and is still so young. When I read the Vanity Fair piece, I wondered how she had the strength to do it, to write like that about something so raw, while being grateful that she had borne witness in that way. The article is a reminder of how different black lives are, from the moment a black child is born and begins to experience the disadvantage loaded onto them by a society built around the preferences and prejudices of white people like me. That an apparently fit and healthy man’s inability to fight off this terrible virus should have roots in the disadvantage of childhood is heartbreaking. What Ward says about the poor nutrition that’s the norm for poor families is heartbreaking. Her article should be required reading for everyone.
I, too, was surprised at how young Ward’s husband was. And when I finished the article, all I could do was wonder how she has done everything while caring for children who must be quite young and therefore require a lot of attention for so many reasons right now. I grew up on the 1960s and have always thought I was pretty aware about social justice issues, but everything that I’m learning right now, from writers like Ward, continues to floor me.
Yes, precisely all of that, Mary. How has she found the strength? And we’ve been deaf to so much despite what the civil rights movement unlocked. I really think it’s the younger generations who are powering the current change. They know and understand so much more than we ‘oldies’ in this.