Smart Girl - by La'tonya Rease Miles (Paperback)

About the Book

La'Tonya Rease Miles has built nationally recognized programs and developed courses for students who are first generation college students. But how did she get to college?

Book Synopsis

Smart Girl: A First-Gen Origin Story is a memoir that redefines first-gen and Black student narratives that highlights mass media, pop culture, and sports as key to shaping identity, resilience, and community. In her memoir, Dr. Rease Miles traces the (sound)tracks of her life as she journeys through myriad K-12 public schools and several college experiences toward a PhD and beyond, battling self-doubt, racism, "imposter syndrome," and "survivor's guilt" to transform the higher education landscape for herself, her family, and community. Smart Girl shifts the focus of first-gen memoirs from solely academic grit to exploring the everyday cultural forces that shape identity and resilience.

*2025 IngramSpark Top Indie Pick

*2025 Catalyst Awards Nominee - Best Memoir category

Review Quotes

"There are few people who have a broader perspective on the first gen community than LT. Her work as an educator, leader, and founder speaks for itself. Yet in Smart Girl, LT pulls back the curtain to deliver her most powerful perspective yet - her own as a first gen student. Smart Girl is a moving, intimate, and inclusive portrait of the first gen experience by one of its fiercest advocates."

Alejandra Campoverdi, national bestselling author of FIRST GEN

"[Smart Girl] includes details that help to show what college life is really like and how seemingly small hiccups can derail a student. I think those can resonate with current students who are working really hard to make it to that graduation stage."

Prof. Shantal Marshall, Nevada State University