Overview
"If I had two wishes, it would be that D. Watkins spend an entire book writing through the terrifying wonder of Black boyness in America, and for every human to read and share this book. I am shaken.Ā Black Boy SmileĀ changed my relationship to writing and me."āKiese Laymon, author of Heavy and winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal
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At nine years old, D. Watkins has three concerns in life: picking his dadās Lotto numbers, keeping his Nikes free of creases, and being a man. Directly in his periphery is east Baltimore, a poverty-stricken city battling the height of the crack epidemic just hours from the nationās capital. Watkins, like many boys around him, is thrust out of childhood and into a world where manhood means surviving by slinging crack on street corners and finding oneself on the right side of pistols. For thirty years, Watkins is forced to safeguard every moment of joy he experiences or risk losing himself entirely. Now, for the first time, Watkins harnesses these moments to tell the story of how he matured into the D. Watkins we know todayābeloved author, college professor, editor-at-large ofĀ Salon.com,Ā and devoted husband and father.
Black Boy SmileĀ lays bare Watkinsās relationship with his father and his brotherhood with the boys around him. He shares candid recollections of early assaults on his body and mind and reveals how he coped using stoic silence disguised as manhood. His harrowing pursuit of redemption, written in his signature street style, pinpoints how generational hardship, left raw and unnurtured, breeds toxic masculinity. Watkins discovers a love for books, is admitted to two graduate programs, meets with his future wife, an attorneyāand finds true freedom in fatherhood. Ā
Equally moving and liberating,Ā Black Boy SmileĀ is D. Watkinsās love letter to Black boys in concrete cities, a daring testimony that brings to life the contradictions, fears, and hopes of boys hurdling headfirst into adulthood.Ā Black Boy SmileĀ is a story proving that when we acknowledge the fallacies of our past, we can uncover the path toward self-discovery.Ā Black Boy SmileĀ is the story of a Black boy who healed.
This book title, Black Boy Smile (A Memoir in Moments) - 9780306923982, ISBN: 9780306923982, by D. Watkins, published by Grand Central Publishing (May 16, 2023) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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