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Black boy smile : a memoir in moments

Summary: "At nine-years-old, D. Watkins has three concerns in life: picking his dad's 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 a crack epidemic just hours from the nation's 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 himself on the wrong side of pistols. For thirty years, Watkins is forced 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 today-beloved author, college professor, editor-at-large of Salon.com, and devoted husband and father. Black Boy Smile lays bare Watkins' relationship with his father and brotherhoods with boys around him. He shares candid recollections of early assaults on his body and mind and how he coped through stoic silence disguised as manhood. His harrowing pursuit for 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 attorney-, and finds true freedom in fatherhood. Equally moving and liberating, Black Boy Smile is D. Watkins' 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. Black Boy Smile is a story that proves that when we acknowledge the fallacies of our past, we can uncover the path toward self-discovery. Black Boy Smile is the story of a Black boy who healed"--

Record details

  • ISBN: 0306924005
  • ISBN: 9780306924002
  • Physical Description: viii, 226 pages ; 22 cm
    print
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Legacy Lit, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group, 2022.

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note: Introduction: The lie -- A camp story -- A dad story -- A first love story -- A school story -- A forever story -- A family story -- Epilogue.
Subject: Watkins, D. (Dwight) Childhood and youth
African American youth Maryland Baltimore Biography
Drug dealers Maryland Baltimore Biography
Violence Maryland Baltimore Anecdotes
African American youth Maryland Baltimore Social life and customs
Poor African Americans Maryland Baltimore Social conditions
African American authors Maryland Baltimore Biography
Coming of age
East Baltimore (Baltimore, Md.) Biography
Genre: Anecdotes.
Autobiographies.
Anecdotes.
Autobiography.

Available copies

  • 6 of 6 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 6 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Altoona Area Public Library 305.23089 WAT (Text) 33240004968783 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Cambria County Library 305.23 W335b (Text) 85131001838631 CACM Non-Fiction Available -
Highland Community Library 305.23 WAT (Text) 35610000993985 HGHM Non-Fiction Available -
Martin Library Adults Watkins Biography (Text) 33454005871678 2nd Floor Available -
Palmerton Area Library 305.23 W32 (Text) 65000000056244 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Easton Main Library 305.23 W335b (Text) 31901004603322 Adult Nonfiction Available -

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