Always Wear Joy - Annotated by Susan Fales-Hill (Paperback)

From the Back Cover

From an inside peek at the inner workings of Hollywood to the backstage drama of Broadway, from a poignant look at the black upper class to an honest look at the WASP elite, this elegantly wrought memoir of an extraordinary family has something for everyone.

Growing up with a black Auntie Mame-like mother (who performed with the likes of Lena Horne) and an Anglo sea-faring father, Susan Fales-Hill moved seamlessly between many worlds. But it was from her mother -- a woman who was dressed by Givenchy and sculpted by Alexander Calder, yet rejected by many a casting agent for her "dark," unconventional looks -- that Susan drew inspiration, particularly when she faced challenges in her own career as a television writer in Hollywood, a town that wasn't always receptive to positive images of people of color. As a result the two developed a bond that mothers and daughters everywhere will find inspiring. Both a universally touching mother-daughter story and a portrait of a dazzling American family, Always Wear Joy is a memoir readers won't soon forget.

Review Quotes

"At last, at last a memoir by a daughter who appreciates and loves her mother, at last." - Bill Cosby
"A distinguished memoir as well as an important contribution to black cultural history." - Kirkus Reviews (Starred)
"A daughter's ode to her mother who showed her 'infinity instead of . . .limitations.' This is no Mommie Dearest." - Andre Leon Talley, Vogue
"In capturing the earthiness and the pain behind her mother's electric public persona, Fales-Hill shares with us a woman who is an inspiration to the many mothers and daughters, not to mention sons, who read this touching memoir." - San Antonio Express-News
"If you've a mother who was a diva, a mother who broke barriers, a mother who made sacrifices on your behalf, then you'll relate to this story. It's not only a moving tribute from a daughter to a mother but a book about the undefeatable spirit of black women everywhere." - E. Lynn Harris
"A moving tribute from a daughter to a mother [and] a book about the undefeatable spirit of black women everywhere." - E. Lynn Harris
"Moving and beautifully rendered." - Town & Country
"[An] extraordinary story." - Essence
"A daughter's ode to her mother who showed her 'infinity instead of . . .limitations.' This is no Mommie Dearest." - Andre Leon Talley, Vogue
"A daughter's ode to her mother who showed her 'infinity instead of . . .limitations.' This is no Mommie Dearest." - Vogue
"This love-filled, uplifting book will gladden your heart, moisten your eyes, and leave you smiling at the end." - Malachy McCourt, author of A Monk Swimming: A Memoir