THE TIME AND PLACE THAT GAVE ME LIFE
In her book, Janet Cheatham Bell writes about coming of age in a northern city that felt very much like the Deep South of the era. Race is a significant presence in this candid and evocative memoir as Bell explains how race and racism impacted and helped shape her life in mid twentieth century Indianapolis. Her struggle with racism is interwoven with local history and forthright discussions of her education, her marriage, and conflicts with her parents. The Time and Place That Gave Me Life "JANET CHEATHAM BELL'S BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN MEMOIR IS BOTH A TENDER MEDITATION ON HER CLOSE-KNIT MIDWESTERN BLACK FAMILY AND A SEARING INDICTMENT OF THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY RACISM THAT CIRCUMSCRIBED THEIR LIVES. HER SPIRIT AND RESILIENCE--AS SHE GROWS FROM DEPRESSION-ERA TODDLER TO CONFIDENT CIVIL RIGHTS ERA WOMAN--WILL KEEP YOU CAPTIVATED AND CHEERING. THIS COMING OF AGE TALE HAS UNIVERSAL APPEAL AND SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR ALL INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS." A'Lelia Bundles, author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker, and Madam Walker's great-great granddaughter "BELL'S IS THE BEST FORM OF SOCIAL HISTORY: A STORY THAT FOCUSES ON AN ORDINARY INDIVIDUAL, BUT ALSO ILLUMINATES THE EXPERIENCES OF MANY OVER TIME." Nancy Gabin, author of Feminism in the Labor Movement: Women and the United Auto Workers, 1933—1975 "WHAT A TRIUMPH! YOU REALLY PULLED IT ALTOGETHER AND HAVE MADE A BOLD AND COURAGEOUS TALE. THE WAY YOU COMBINE THE PERSONAL AND THE POLITICAL IS PERFECT." Antonia Matthew, Poet, Bloomington, IN "JANET CHEATHAM BELL HAS CRAFTED A COMPELLING MEMOIR ABOUT GROWING UP IN INDIANA." Monroe Little in Indiana Magazine of History December 2008 "THIS IS MORE THAN A MEMOIR. JANET CHEATHAM BELL HAS SEASONED HER PERSONAL STORY WITH SOME LITTLE-KNOWN HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN INDIANA." Julian Bond, Professor, University of Virginia; former Board Chairman, NAACP "JANET CHEATHAM BELL TELLS A MOVING, ... COMPELLING STORY." James H. Madison, Thomas Milton Miller and Kathryn Owens Miller Professor of History, Indiana University; author of A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America  "THE VERY FIRST CHAPTER IS POWERFUL. IT READS LIKE A REALLY GOOD OPINION PIECE IN A NEWSPAPER. IT IS PERSONAL, FUNNY, INFORMATIVE AND HAS A BITE." Jason B. Smith, co-owner, The Book Table, Oak Park, IL |
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