Straight, No Chaser: How I Became a Grown-Up Black Woman

Jill Nelson's first book, Volunteer Slavery, was an account of her time as a writer at the Washington Post, a sojourn that ended with her resignation and a near-nervous breakdown. In this new collection of essays, Nelson issues a call to arms to black women. As she sees it, black women are at the center of the black community as parents, workers, churchgoers, nurturers, and caregivers, yet are excluded from discussions about the future of that community. In this stirring, sure-to-be-talked-about book, Nelson challenges black women to "speak up and out, to speak the truth about what is really happening in ourselves, our communities, and the larger culture."