Seeking Personal Validation: The Life and Times of an African American, Female, Academic

This book is a memoir written by an African American woman who grew up in the rural South during the late 1930s and1940s. Being poor and having to confront three types of prejudices-racial, color within the Negro race (some perpetrated by her own relatives), and poverty-affected her self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. She dreamed of being a different person, and in at least one instance while in grade school, she tried to change her personal appearance in a nonsensible manner that could have been dangerous. In her early twenties, just as her self-concept was improving, an uncontrollable illness made her feel that she was living between heaven and hell. She includes bits of history, sociology, and psychology in telling about her life. In the later part of the memoir, she describes the effect that being involved in a newly developing role in academia had upon her life and others. Through her writings, the reader becomes more knowledgeable about life as a black person and can learn some unknown facts about race relations, working in positions that are not well-known by the general public, experiences with sexism, and combating everyday human problems.

The author, a black female, was born and raised in a southern, farm community. Due to the discrimination among black people based on light versus dark complexions, she as a brown individual, felt that she did not belong and did not feel comfortable in any group in that society. This caused her to have very low self esteem and to feel that she had nothing of value in her to contribute to her life or any one else’s. There were also family problems while she was growing up that added to her misery. However she worked hard in school to make her family proud. Consequently, she was elected editor of the the high school weekly newspaper and editor of the senior class year book. She finished high school and college with good grades and married a U.S. Air Force Officer on the evening of commence day. She experienced numerous health problems during adulthood which sometimes put a strain on her marriage. However, she and her husband loved each other dearly and were blessed with two lovely daughters. She never lost her interest in writing. In the mid sixties she took the Famous Writers’ Course and received good critiques. Although she selected sociology for her Master’s Degree, she continued her interest in writing and tried to further develop her skills by trying to write impressively when doing letters, reports, grant applications and other business documents. Several professional, academic positions helped her reach goals that, as a child, she never would have dreamed she could be selected for or could accomplish. And in these new positions, helping others gave her fulfillment and new insights about what was really important in life. Her numerous personal experiences, travel, and unusual occupations made her believe readers could benefit from getting to know her through her life stor