Have You Read the Summer Reading Program Book?

Are you aware of SDSU’s Summer Reading Program? This year’s book is Ronne Hartfield’s Another Way Home, The Tangled Roots of Race in One Chicago Family.

Hartfield’s moving narrative tells the story of her family’s history over most of the 20th century. Born into a family of mixed race, Hartfield focuses on her mother, Day Shepherd, who could have easily “passed” as white in the racially charged South, and later in the black Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville. She instead chose to celebrate and live in harmony as a mixed race woman. Hartfield’s book is filled with stories of family members, mostly women, who live lives of grace, resiliency, and hope.

Another Way Home is a poignant and tender story of a loving family, but it also outlines the turbulent history of race relations in our country.

Hartfield notes in the prologue to her book that there is a large void of stories that deal with African Americans who have lived mixed race lives with ease. The family members in her book not only accept being mulattos, but value and find joy in it, “where being a woman of mixed race could be a fundamental source of strength, vitality and courage.”

Critically acclaimed, the book has been described as one that provides “an intimate family portrait that emphasizes the similarities between races more than differences.”

SDSU began the Summer Reading Program in 2004 as a way of introducing students to the intellectual life of the university. All incoming students are encouraged to read it, but it is also meant for returning students, faculty and staff. Several events during the fall semester will revolve around the book.

If you haven’t already done so, pick up a copy and read this year’s book. The SDSU Bookstore is offering it at a discount of $11.49.

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