Advance Praise for
GROWING UP NIGGER RICH
By Gwendoline Y. Fortune

"A well-written novel populated by a vibrant cast of characters. An important Southern story, seldom told illuminating, memorable, necessary."
--Lee Smith, fiction writer and author of Oral History

"In Growing Up Nigger Rich, Gwen Fortune lights up a niche of the American
experience which has hitherto been in the dark. And she does so in a way
that is both meaningful and exciting, making this a landmark
novel." --Robert Gover, author of A Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding

"Gwen Fortune takes us on an important journey in her debut novel, Growing Up Nigger Rich. It is a journey that will engage and enrich us. The many simple and loving personal encounters between members of often oppositional communities are models for a humane society. Enjoy!"
--Susan Koppleman, editor of Women in the Trees: U.S. Women's Short Stories about Battering and Resistance 1839-1994

"Gwen Fortune takes us back to an African American south in the 1950s that we haven't seen before, a rich mix of ethnicity, personal idiosyncrasy, class, and education; a diversity which is, nevertheless, collapsed into one dimension by the overwhelming power of segregation. Growing Up Nigger Rich is an important book because it forces us to confront the nature of stereotypes. The 'other' is always one-dimensional. How can we allow diversity, when that would mean the 'other' is just like us?"
--Judith Ernst, publisher Parvardigar Press

"Fortune hits the right notes, creating a personal symphony of themes and
motifs ... An excellent window into the largely unseen complexities of Southern life,
this book illustrates how much has changed racially in the 'New South'
while reminding us of just how much more change is needed in the hearts and
minds of both North and South, both male and female, both poor and 'nigger
rich.'
--R. Steve Eberly, professor of literature Western Carolina University

"A brave book and a powerfully honest one, dealing as it does with an important subject, one that too many of our writers have either scrupulously avoided or deftly and carefully tiptoed around. An admirable and gifted writer, Gwendoline Y. Fortune here proves herself worthy of our best, most serious attention."
--George Garrett, professor of english University of Virginia

"This novel reads like a journal, hope chest memoir uninterrupted by contrived formulae sensations, yet more sensational because any 'American' who reads Growing up Nigger Rich will find endless moments that will sit them back and chuckle or well up at their own memories."
--Nathan Ross Freeman. playwright. Founder, Montage Showcase Ensemble