"Born in 1923 in Madisonville, Louisiana, Leah Chase would marry into the Chase restaurant family in nearby New Orleans, but that small geographic move would end up taking her worlds away. [She became] a national-award-winning cook and civic figure. This [book], told in the form of letters to God, shares her inspirational journey with middle-grade readers"--Publisher marketing.
Author David L. Lyons grew up during the 1950s and 60s in the small community of Whitehall in northern Alabama. As a child, he dealt with abject poverty and the stigma of being born to an unwed mother, which greatly affected his childhood. Lyons realized he was different from other children on the first day of school, when teachers asked students to tell the class who their fathers were and what they did. He never knew his father. Instead, he was raised by a single mother-a rarity in 1947, when he was born-with the help of his maternal grandparents. In his memoir, A Long Way from Whitehall, Lyons recalls the adventures, misadventures, and unusual characters he encountered living in rural Alabama. He includes tales of family, holidays, schools, and childhood mischief, as well as memories from his time in the navy, his return to civilian life, his time in college, and his eventual career as a police officer and a commissioned officer in the US Army. Lyons also provides a collection of food recipes and home remedies used during his youth. This personal narrative presents a story of survival, perseverance, and the tremendous drive to overcome early difficulties. Lyons' life story demonstrates that with hard work it is possible to achieve your dreams.
A leading advocate for social justice excavates the history of forced migration in the twelve American towns she’s called home, revealing how White supremacy has fundamentally shaped the nation. “At a time when many would rather ban or bury the truth, Ali-Khan bravely faces it in this bracing and necessary book.”—Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Homeland Elegies Sofia Ali-Khan’s parents emigrated from Pakistan to America, believing it would be a good country. With a nerdy interest in American folk history and a devotion to the rule of law, Ali-Khan would pursue a career in social justice, serving some of America’s most vulnerable communities. By the time she had children of her own—having lived, worked, and worshipped in twelve different towns across the nation—Ali-Khan felt deeply American, maybe even a little extra American for having seen so much of the country. But in the wake of 9/11, and on the cusp of the 2016 election, Ali-Khan’s dream of a good life felt under constant threat. As the vitriolic attacks on Islam and Muslims intensified, she wondered if the American dream had ever applied to families like her own, and if she had gravely misunderstood her home. In A Good Country, Ali-Khan revisits the color lines in each of her twelve towns, unearthing the half-buried histories of forced migration that still shape every state, town, and reservation in America today. From the surprising origins of America’s Chinatowns, the expulsion of Maroon and Seminole people during the conquest of Florida, to Virginia’s stake in breeding humans for sale, Ali-Khan reveals how America’s settler colonial origins have defined the law and landscape to maintain a White America. She braids this historical exploration with her own story, providing an intimate perspective on the modern racialization of American Muslims and why she chose to leave the United States. Equal parts memoir, history, and current events, A Good Country presents a vital portrait of our nation, its people, and the pathway to a better future.
"Outstanding biography . . . If you never read it, you should. It's an amazing story." --Louisiana Cookin' Leah Lange Chase was raised in a small, country town across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. With the values instilled in her by devoted parents--hard work, faith, and family--she soon grew into a woman to be reckoned with. In her roles as chef of the most popular Creole restaurant in New Orleans, nationally respected patron of the arts, and civic leader, she has influenced the world around her in important ways. Reading her story makes one think, "If she can do it, maybe I can too." After rejecting the usual occupations for respectable Creole girls to work in a restaurant in the French Quarter, Leah married Edgar "Dooky" Chase II and began running the kitchen for her mother-in-law. After her mother-in-law's death, Leah nurtured the former po' boy shop and numbers business into a world-class restaurant. Dooky Chase's was one of a handful of restaurants in the country where African Americans could sit down to a nice meal in well-appointed surroundings. The restaurant was and still is frequented by prominent African American actors, athletes, artists, writers, and musicians. It has also always been a gathering place for local politicians and activists. Leah Chase has become a living legend for popularizing Creole cuisine, for her political activism, for her tireless work for numerous organizations, and for her extensive art collection. Through it all, she raised four children and survived the sudden loss of the daughter with whom she worked closely and a bombing during the Civil Rights era. What has borne her through it all is perhaps the most compelling aspect of this amazing woman: her faith and her family.
