“Some essay collections challenge your intellect, others break open your heart, a few grant a new way of seeing, and occasionally one sings a song you feel in your bones. It’s rare that a collection hits all four notes, yet Camille T. Dungy’s first collection of essays, Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History (W.W. Norton, 2017) does so with impressive range, ambition, and timeliness.”
Indie Next Great Reads, July 2017
Guidebook to Relative Strangers makes the list!
Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys Into Race, Motherhood, and History, by Camille T. Dungy (W.W. Norton & Company, 9780393253757, $25.95) “I approached Dungy’s book with the same feelings I had when starting Maggie Nelson’s Argonauts. I had very little in common with the writers of these two books or the experiences related in them, yet with each I found myself drawn in by the acute intelligence of the writing and pulled along by the sheer compulsion of a story well told. Not only is Dungy a more than capable storyteller, she writes like the poet she is, and, like all poets, she leads us across a boundary, expanding our worlds.” —Stephen Sparks, Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco, CA
Guidebook to Relative Strangers makes the must-read list in ESSENCE!
Read a new essay by Camille Dungy, featured on Guernica
“Mothering while Art-ing,” an interview with MUTHA Magazine
StarTribune praises Guidebook to Relative Strangers
“Motherhood memoirs make up a robust though almost entirely white genre. Camille T. Dungy’s evocative debut, “Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys Into Race, Motherhood, and History,” meticulously parses the ways in which work, travel and creativity affect black motherhood, and in doing so provides a much needed perspective….”
Bitch Reads June Selections!
“What resonates most within these essays is Dungy’s self-awareness: She knows who she is and how her identities impact how she’s perceived. If you’ve been searching for an Eat, Pray, Love-esque memoir that isn’t exploitative, Guidebook to Relative Strangers is definitely worth your time.”
KIRKUS gives Guidebook to Relative Strangers a glowing review!
“Forthright, entertaining, often potent essays that successfully intertwine personal history and historical context regarding black and white in America.”
SUMMER READING
ELLE Magazine names Guidebook to Relative Strangers in a list of
24 Best New Books to Read This Summer
Order your books from Old Firehouse, and get them signed too!
Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys Into Race, Motherhood and History.
Published on June 13
If you want Camille to sign your copy, be sure to leave a note in your purchase order with the desired name. I’ll run over to the bookstore and be sure to personalize your book for you!