One of TIME's 100 Must Read Books of 2020 and one of Good Housekeeping's Best Books of the Year “One of the smartest young writers of her generation.”—Book Riot Featuring a new afterword from the author, Morgan Jerkins' powerful story of her journey to understand her northern and southern roots, the Great Migration, and the displacement of black people across America. Between 1916 and 1970, six million black Americans left their rural homes in the South for jobs in cities in the North, West, and Midwest in a movement known as The Great Migration. But while this event transformed the complexion of America and provided black people with new economic opportunities, it also disconnected them from their roots, their land, and their sense of identity, argues Morgan Jerkins. In this fascinating and deeply personal exploration, she recreates her ancestors’ journeys across America, following the migratory routes they took from Georgia and South Carolina to Louisiana, Oklahoma, and California. Following in their footsteps, Jerkins seeks to understand not only her own past, but the lineage of an entire group of people who have been displaced, disenfranchised, and disrespected throughout our history. Through interviews, photos, and hundreds of pages of transcription, Jerkins braids the loose threads of her family’s oral histories, which she was able to trace back 300 years, with the insights and recollections of black people she met along the way—the tissue of black myths, customs, and blood that connect the bones of American history. Incisive and illuminating, Wandering in Strange Lands is a timely and enthralling look at America’s past and present, one family’s legacy, and a young black woman’s life, filtered through her sharp and curious eyes.

Now in paperback, New York Times bestselling author Morgan Jerkins's fiction debut, an electrifying novel for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jacqueline Woodson, that brings to life one powerful and enigmatic family in a tale rife with secrets, betrayal, intrigue, and magic. Laila desperately wants to become a mother, but each of her previous pregnancies has ended in heartbreak. This time has to be different, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power. When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn’t know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family—by her niece, Amara, an ambitious college student—and delivered to the Melancons to raise as one of their own. Hallow is special: she’s born with a caul, and their matriarch, Maman, predicts the girl will restore the family’s prosperity. Growing up, Hallow feels that something in her life is not right. Did Josephine, the woman she calls mother, really bring her into the world? Why does her cousin Helena get to go to school and roam the streets of New York freely while she’s confined to the family’s decrepit brownstone? As the Melancons’ thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family. When mother and daughter cross paths, Hallow will be forced to decide where she truly belongs. Engrossing, unique, and page-turning, Caul Baby illuminates the search for familial connection, the enduring power of tradition, and the dark corners of the human heart.

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: STORY II. AMBA, THE WITCH'S DAUGHTER. As Coomba was one evening sitting on a low stool before her door, in the town of Addina, watching the gambols of her son, a wretched and emaciated female entered the path which led from the bush or forest. She was scarcely able to carry her own weight, much less that of a little girl, aged two years, who was tied to her back by a piece of ragged silk. The only clothing of this unhappy object was a small strip of dirty, tattered cotton, girt round her loins, and which scarcely reached her knees: her flesh was torn by the thorns in her path; her feet were swollen with fatigue; her skin, stretched over her projecting bones, was parched and cracked into large white flakes from the heat of the sun; her hair was dusty and brown, her eyes were sunk in their sockets, her cheeks were hollow, her knees touched each other at every step, and she was frequently obliged to pause and take breath, leaning on the rude staff with which she tried to support herself (1). Coomba beheld her with pity, and the little Tarbara crept with fear to his mother's knees. The poor woman at last stood opposite to Coomba's house: she was evidently in a famished state, and her child also bore the appear.nice of want; but from its being in a much better condition than its mother, the latter had probably deprived herself of nourishment to prolong the life of her offspring. She stopped, and looked at Coomba with a wistful eye. There was an appearance of resignation in her deportment; not a sound escaped her lips; but she turned from the robust form of the sturdy Tarbara to the delicate limbs of her own child, and a big tear moistened her burning eyelids: a dizziness then seemed to seize her, for she suddenly raised her hand, exclaiming Oh my head and sunk upon the ground. ...