New Book: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky: A Novel by Heidi W. Durrow

I had mentioned this book last summer Here because it received a lot of early buzz and the author is just outright cool (a former attorney, the podcaster behind Mixed Chicks Chat.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky is already on the The 2010 February Indie Next List.

Book info:

This debut novel tells the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy.

With her strict African American grandmother as her new guardian, Rachel moves to a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring mixed attention her way. Growing up in the 1980s, she learns to swallow her overwhelming grief and confronts her identity as a biracial young woman in a world that wants to see her as either black or white.

Meanwhile, a mystery unfolds, revealing the terrible truth about Rachel’s last morning on a Chicago rooftop. Interwoven are the voices of Jamie, a neighborhood boy who witnessed the events, and Laronne, a friend of Rachel’s mother. Inspired by a true story of a mother’s twisted love, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky reveals an unfathomable past and explores issues of identity at a time when many people are asking “Must race confine us and define us?”

In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl—and society’s ideas of race, class, and beauty.

It is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.

http://heidiwdurrow.com
www.mixedchickschat.com
Heidi’s Blog

from her blog:

My Real Grandmother from Heidi Durrow on Vimeo.

@hdurrow

Spread the love

More Articles for You

Other Inheritances: Scent Memories from a Childhood at Fat’s Pet Shop in East Harlem

Before I ever knew what a perfumer was or that someone could make a living decoding and remixing scent, I …

Spread the love

Ghosts of the Palisades: Threads between memories, places and time

Somewhere tucked away, high on the Palisades, on lovely, dead end street, in the ether of the internet and Google …

Spread the love

Eight Goodbyes: Love, Loss, and the Six Years That Changed Everything

The first to die that year, the year before COVID-19 changed everything, was my aunt, Ruth or “Chin” as we …

Spread the love

How DNA, Haplogroups, and Genetic Markers Reveal Taíno Heritage

The Genetic Echoes of the Taíno People The Taíno people, the first known inhabitants of the Caribbean, have long been …

Spread the love

Unearthing the Invisible in Ben Brisbois’ Banana Capital: Unpeeling the Layers of Capitalism and Racism

The banana. Simple, ubiquitous, and unassuming. Yet, as Ben Brisbois reveals in his forthcoming Banana Capital, it’s anything but ordinary. …

Spread the love

Ditching The Algorithm: Why I Joined Bluesky (And You Should Too)

For years, social media has been both a megaphone and an equalizer, a place where anyone can share art, advocate …

Spread the love