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Alice Walker

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In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Prose Kindle Edition

by Alice Walker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.8 525 ratings

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Great on Kindle

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A collection of early personal and political essays from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple.

Includes a new letter written by the author
What is a womanist? Alice Walker sets out to define the concept in this anthology of early essays and other nonfiction pieces. As she outlines it, a womanist is a person who prefers to side with the oppressed: with women, with people of color, with the poor. As a writer, Walker has always taken such people as her primary subjects, and her search for paths toward self-possession and freedom always holds out hope for the transformative power of compassion and love. Whether she’s taking on nuclear proliferation, the promise and problems of the civil rights movement, or her own creative process, Walker always brings to bear a fearless determination to tell the truth.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alice Walker including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens] reflects not only ideas but a life that has breathed color, sound, and soul into fiction and poetry—and into our lives as well.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“What is said from the depths of oppression illuminates all other oppressions.” —New Statesman

From the Back Cover

In her first collection of nonfiction, Alice Walker speaks out as a black woman, writer, mother, and feminist, in thirty-six pieces ranging from the personal to the political. Here are essays about Walker's own work and that of other writers, accounts of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the antinuclear movement of the 1980s, and a vivid, courageous memoir of a scarring childhood injury. Throughout the volume, Walker explores the theories and practices of feminists and feminism, incorporating what she calls the "womanist" tradition of black women.

"This is one of the healthiest collections of essays I have come across in a long time. . . . What [Walker] says about the black woman she says from the depths of oppression. What is said from the depths of oppression illuminates all other oppressions."-New Statesman

Alice Walker is the author of seven novels, three collections of short stories, three collections of essays, seven volumes of poetry, and several children's books. Her novel The Color Purple won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and her work has been translated into more than two dozen languages. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, Walker lives in northern California.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005YZGTLA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (November 22, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 22, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5486 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 418 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #503,459 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #331 in Feminist Theory (Kindle Store)
- #462 in African American Studies
- #1,183 in Feminist Theory (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 525 ratings

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Alice Walker

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Alice Walker (b. 1944), one of the United States’ preeminent writers, is an award-winning author of novels, stories, essays, and poetry. In 1983, Walker became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction with her novel The Color Purple, which also won the National Book Award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Meridian, The Temple of My Familiar, and Possessing the Secret of Joy. In her public life, Walker has worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.

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4.8 out of 5

525 global ratings

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Arron Haller

Great condition

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2021

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This book is in a condition even though is a second-hand book. My wife uses this book as her inspiration for her capstone projects. We would recommend "One Child Of One's Own" in this book. It's very interesting. Similar to A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf.

3 people found this helpful

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Just as Powerful ReReading Now as An Adult as when I was a Teen

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2019

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This book left powerful impression on me when I first read it when I was 16. I reread the essays just recently and found myself publicly bursting into tears because of the power validation it brings to various manifestations of Black women's creativity. Beautiful essays.

18 people found this helpful

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Chanel Jade

A great read

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2018

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I love this book so much that i read into it so deeply. Everything in this book can be perceived in a different way but there are no wrong perceptions. I will definitely read this book again and make my daughter read it when she becomes of age

8 people found this helpful

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Kimburlee

good buy

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2021

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nice product, please with delivery and satisfied with my purchase.

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2020

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Ordered hardcover and got paperback instead. Othe than that the book is amazing

One person found this helpful

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DivaPurple

A Must Read

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2021

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Very good read. So inspiring and insightful.

One person found this helpful

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SimplyS

I'm captivated and inspired! 💚

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2021

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The womanist perspective resonates with me so deeply. I love this book.

One person found this helpful

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naturalgal

This book is great! I've really learned a lot

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2018

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This book is great! I've really learned a lot. I used this book for my English class and it has been of great help for my assignments and papers! It's also a really interesting book to read as well. I recommend it! 😊

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

gee

A brilliant read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2019

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I loved this book! I enjoyed the little history and past events of my roots!!

Vaibhav Krishna Rao

Four Stars

Reviewed in India on June 10, 2017

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Thank you Amazon. Great

AuntyB

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2014

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An uplifting and inspiring read. Alice Walker discusses and redefines the experience of being a woman in the twenty first century. A soulful collection of essays.

Tom

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2017

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On time, as expected, no hassles, Happy

mamoyobornfree

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2018

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Valuable book