AcclaimedpoetHafizahAugustusGeterreclaimsheroriginstoryinthis“lyricalmemoir“(TheNewYorker)--combiningbitingcriticismandhauntingvisuals.“HafizahAugustusGeterisagenuineartist,notboundbygenreorform.Heronlyloyaltyistheharrowingbeautyofthetruth.“--TayariJones,authorofAnAmericanMarriageWinnerofthePENOpenBookAward-WinneroftheLambdaLiteraryAward-ANewYorkerBestBookoftheYear-AKirkusReviewsBestNonfictionBookoftheYear-ABrittlePaperNotableAfricanBookoftheYear-FinalistfortheChautauquaPrize“Isay,’theBlackPeriod,’andmean’home’inallitsshapeshiftingways.“Abookofgreathope,HafizahAugustusGeter’sTheBlackPeriodcreatesamapforhowtosurvive:acountry,acloset,amother’sdeath,andtheterrorofbecomingwhoweareinaworldnotbuilttoaccommodatediverseidentities.Atnineteen,shesuddenlylosthermothertoastroke.Weekslater,herfatherbecamesoheartsickthatheneededatriplebypass.Amidthecrumblingofherworld,HafizahstruggledtoknowhowtomournaMuslimwomaninafreshlypost-9/11America.WeavingthroughachildhoodpopulatedwithsouthernandNigerianrelatives,herdaysinasmallCatholicschool,andlearningtoacceptherownsexuality,andinthefaceofachronicpaindisabilitythatsendsherpinballingthroughthegrindthatistheAmericanDream,Hafizahdiscoversthatgriefisapoliticalcondition.Inconfrontingthemanylayersofexistencethattheworldtriestodeny,itbecomesclearthatinordertoemergefromerasure,shemustmapoutherownnarrative.Throughauniquecombinationofgrippingmemoir,history,politicalanalysis,culturalcriticism,andAfrofuturistthought--alongsidestunningoriginalartworkcreatedbyherfather,renownedartistTyroneGeter--Hafizahleansintoherparents’lessonsontheartofBlackrevisiontocreateaspaceforthebeautyofBlackness,Islam,disability,andqueernesstoflourish.Asexquisitelytoldasitisinnovative,andwithalyricismthatdazzles,TheBlackPeriodisareminderthatjoyandtendernessrequirecourage,too.
THENEWYORKER AMOTHER HOME HISTORY
