”Santana has assembled and introduced a timely, geographically diverse collection of essays, often very personal in nature..." – Booklist
”In this beautifully composed chorus of sixty-nine voices, Deborah Santana has given us a fascinating and compelling anthology of essays by women of color. Each of these brief, poignant pieces illuminates one woman’s negotiation between her aspirations and the forces that would constrict her dreams. The contributors write prophetically of their struggles and triumphs in the early years of the twenty-first century, challenging the reader with their revelations. All the Women in My Family Sing is essential reading.” ndash; Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
"All the Women of My Family Sing is a rousing compilation by sixty-nine women of color, featuring essays that address personal and collective identity, history, place, perspective, sexuality, immigration, and modern day life..." – Donovan’s Bookshelf
"These brilliant and moving essays show the astonishing, brave and passionate lives of women of color as they fight for autonomy, equality and love."
—Isabel Allende,
"This mosaic of women's voices inspires, heals, and offers hope in dark times. A memorable collection that will make your heart sing." – Ruth Behar, author of Lucky Broken Girl
"All the Women in My Family Sing is a bold, evocative anthology that cannot be read without engaging your full heart. The essays about identity, family, love, acceptance, and fear are a testament to the times, unrelenting in their examination of personal and global pain. There's triumph here and the resilience specific to the female spirit." – Nichelle Tramble Spellman, author of The Dying Ground and The Last King Writer/Producer of The Good Wife and Justified
"Santana, an author, activist and filmmaker, carefully showcases the depth and breadth of women’s voices on family, identity and culture." – The Root
" Editor Deborah Santana has assembled a rich melange of writers, including Natalie Baszile, Lalita Tademy, Nira A. Hyman and Meera Bowman-Johnson, who go deep on a range of issues that will meet you where your heart beats.." – BUST Magazine
"In their common pursuits of acceptance, friendship and social justice, these writers demonstrate that there are truths and desires that transcend lines of color, sexuality and class. In sounding common chords of humanity, their voices, together, create a mighty chorus." &ndashUSA Today
"Whether the words pour forth like Jazz or salsa, indie rock or R&B, indigenous drums, kotos, maracas, or the sheng, they all ring out in stories of ancestry, forgiveness, struggle and victory. It is an eclectic collection where you may hear both new and familiar songs which seem to reflect Lucille Clifton’s request that we 'celebrate' with her the fact that each woman writer has survived, indeed flourished through rivers bridged, mountains climbed or oceans navigated despite hurricane storms." – devorah major,poet/novelist/essayist, San Francisco 3rd Poet Laureate
"These perfectly chosen, Women Words are a healing gift from new sistahs, now my family, for whom I will fight, with whom I will stand and because of whom, I will build." – Alfre Woodard, Actor, Activist
"Each of these brief, poignant pieces illuminates one woman’s negotiation between her aspirations and the forces that would constrict her dreams. The contributors write prophetically of their struggles and triumphs in the early years of the twenty-first century, challenging the reader with their revelations. All the Women in My Family Sing is essential reading." – Henry Louis Gates, Jr ,Alphonse Fletcher University Professor Harvard University
"For those who love womankind―and those seeking to understand the depth and breadth of womanhood― All the Women in My Family Sing is a timely reminder that when it comes to women of color, love is still a revolutionary act." – The Glow Up
"This moving anthology of essays by women of color illuminates the struggles, traditions, and life views of women at the dawn of the 21st century. The 69 authors grapple with identity, belonging, self-esteem, and sexuality, among other topics." – Publishers Weekly
"Impassioned writers bearing witness to survival, creativity, and hope." – Kirkus Reviews
”Verdict: ALL THE WOMEN IN MY FAMILY SING is a luminous collection of women speaking their truths, and speaking them loudly.”– IndieReader
"The result is a highly recommended collection powerful in literary approaches, diverse in subject and presentation, yet accessible to all thinking women who look for a blend of emotion-based experiential pieces and ways of navigating through wounded pasts to better futures." – Donovan’s Bookshelf
"The voices in All the Women in My Family Sing intermingle to produce a harmony of moving experiences that taps into the rhythm of our collective desires for a more compassionate world." – Nancy Wilson, Jazz Singer; three-time Grammy Award-winner
" Inspiring and profound, this exciting compilation of first-person nonfiction by women of color including America Ferrera, Porochista Khakpour, and more, offers a much-needed and wide-ranging perspective on the 21st century human condition." – Essence Magazine
"Santana has compiled a truly beautiful array of voices here, with hope being the common note they all hit and sustain. This is an accessible, teachable and cherishable collection." – Dave Eggers, author of The Circle and founder of ScholarMatch and Voice of Witness
"In their common pursuits of acceptance, friendship and social justice, these writers demonstrate that there are truths and desires that transcend lines of color, sexuality and class. In sounding common chords of humanity, their voices, together, create a mighty chorus." – USA Today
”There’s something absolutely compelling about the stories in All the Women in My Family Sing.'They’re like an addiction. Read one, and your eyes fly open. Turn to the middle and your heart sinks. Taste one at random and find a kindred spirit, then disagree with another that just doesn’t touch you right. That’s the appeal of this book: each of the essays in here ― written by everyday women as well as those with fame ― are short enough to dip into quick, you can easily skip around, and they’ll all make you think and think and think. Yes, All the Women in My Family Sing is for women. It’s more feminist than not. And yes, men can enjoy it, too, because reading it is like falling into a web of nourishing voices. This is a book to have, no matter who you are." – Caribbean Life News
"A song of freedom: that’s what you hear as you read All the Women in My Family Sing, an anthology of essays by women of color. Sometimes the songs are heavy with loss, or staccato with righteous anger, or lilting with love. From Samina Ali’s tale of re-building her life after medical incompetence left her both a new mother and disabled to Camille Hayes’ story of challenging racial constructs over the years, we see women who fight passionately and gracefully for autonomy and self-definition. Some of them are new voices, others literary or socio-political lions like Marian Wright Edelman. But in all these fierce and anthemic pieces we see the true face of womanhood, in all its colors." – Farai Chideya, author of books including The Color of Our Future and The Episodic Career
”13 books to watch for in the first half of 2018- Mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers ― the essays in this collection are written by women of color from around the world and range from an escape from the “killing fields” of Cambodia to stories of love and desire." – OZY.com
"Inside the collection, trailblazing activists and writers open up about the intergenerational relationships that shaped their identities and their work in tender and brave poetry and prose. As the diversity of their voices comes together, readers acutely recognize the importance finding home can have in our journeys toward building a better world." – Carmen RiosMs. Magazine
"All the Women in My Family Singis on a different beat. The anthology is a passionate blend of personal stories by women of color from all walks of life ― and women of color took part in the entire production of the book.”– NPR- KALW
"An uncommonly rare and inherently compelling read from cover to cover, All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World: Essays on Equality, Justice, and Freedomis an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Women's collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject..." – Midwest Book Review
"The voices of women leading and stirring and instigating lasting magic towards a more just, peaceful and sustainable world remind us that there is hope even when we feel most disheartened… a symphony for troubled times!" – Kavita N Ramdas ,feminist philanthropist activist, Principal at KNR Sisters & Strategy Advisor, MADRE
"A revolutionary primer for all us well-meaning white folks who haven't a clue about what it's like to be a woman of color." – Susan Gabriel, author of Trueluck Summer
"An anthology of essays by women of color documenting their vast experiences around the world inside different economic, social, and geopolitical systems, including a piece written by the actress America Ferrera. (The book was also produced entirely by women of color, from writing and editing to design and promotion.) We’re lucky to have a wealth of new books to help focus the mind and bring some peace, clarity, and wisdom to our daily routines.." &ndashVogue.com
"All the Women in my Family Sing is a very thoughtful, well-curated collection of personal essays written by women of color, spanning a variety of themes and experiences. It shares stories that spark a conversation about the human experience, rather than just bringing tales about what it’s like to struggle as a woman of color" – Lenna Stites, City Book Review (San Francisco / Manhattan / Seattle)
"All the Women in My Family Sing: Women Write the World ― Essays on Equality, Justice and Freedom Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
"An anthology of essays by women of color documenting their vast experiences around the world inside different economic, social, and geopolitical systems, including a piece written by the actress America Ferrera. (The book was also produced entirely by women of color, from writing and editing to design and promotion.) We’re lucky to have a wealth of new books to help focus the mind and bring some peace, clarity, and wisdom to our daily routines." – 7 Nonfiction Books to Change Your Life in 2018, Vogue.com
"The essays in this book capture the wisdom of these powerful women as they build bridges to ‘heal the brokenness in today’s turbulent world.’" – Black America
"All the Women in My Family Sing encompasses everything that is important about women of color -- our diversity, sacrifice, crusade for equality, and the impact we have made on the lives of others." – Jenny Bach, California Democratic Party Secretary
About the Author
Deborah Santana is an author, philanthropist, advocate for peace and social justice, and mother of three extremely loved children. Her first memoir, Space Between The Stars: My Journey to an Open Heart, was published in March 2005.
Ms. Santana founded Do A Little, a donor-advised fund at the San Francisco Foundation in 2008 that supports women and girls in the areas of health, education and happiness. She has received many awards, supports varied organizations, and has traveled widely, appreciative of her encounters with everyone from Nelson Mandela to young school girls in Kenya.
Ms. Santana believes life is to be lived with integrity, compassion and love. She tells her personal stories to share her strength and encourage others on the journey.
America Ferrera is an award-winning actress and producer who is perhaps best known for her breakthrough role as “Betty Suarez” on ABC’s hit comedy, Ugly Betty, for which she won a Golden Globe®, Emmy® and Screen Actors Guild Award®, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards. Ferrera currently produces and stars in the NBC workplace comedy, Superstore, which was recently picked up for a third season.
She recently Executive Produced Refinery 29’s Behind the Headlines and Only Girl.
In July 2016, America spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on behalf of women’s rights and immigration in support of Hillary Clinton.
Behind the scenes, America has started her own television and film production company, Take Fountain.
Porochista Khakpour is an Iranian American novelist, essayist and writer. She is a contributor of personal essays to The New York Times about her experiences as Iranian-American and Islamic popular culture, and also writes about popular culture and music in the United States. Her first novel, Sons and Other Flammable Objects (Grove/Atlantic) was published in September 2007. The lyrical dark comedy, centered on the aftermath of 9/11 and Iranian fathers and sons in Los Angeles and New York, was a New York Times Editor's Choice and was included on the Chicago Tribune's 2007 "Fall's Best" list. It won the 77th annual California Book Award prize in First Fiction. She has been longlisted for the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize and shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize.
Khakpour's second novel, The Last Illusion (Bloomsbury USA), was released on May 13, 2014.
Khakpour currently teaches at Columbia University in New York as an Adjunct Faculty Member in the MFA program, the written arts department at Bard College, and at Fordham University as an Adjunct Faculty member.
- Sons and Other Flammable Objects, Grove Press 2008, ISBN 978-0802143860
- The Last Illusion, Bloomsbury USA 2014, ISBN 978-1620403044
Porochista Khakpour is a Writer in Residence at Bard College.
Natalie Baszile, whose best-selling novel Queen Sugar was adapted for Oprah’s TV channel by award-winning director, Ava Duvernay, has a M.A. in Afro-American Studies from UCLA, and is a graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers where she was a Holden Minority Scholar. Queen Sugar was named one of the San Francisco Chronicles’ Best Books of 2014, was long-listed for the Crooks Corner Southern Book Prize, and nominated for an NAACP Image Award. She has had residencies at the Ragdale Foundation where she was awarded the Sylvia Clare Brown fellowship, Virginia Center for the Arts, and Hedgebrook
Lalita Tademy is The New York Times bestselling author of three historical novels. Her debut novel, Cane River, was Oprah’s Summer Book Pick in 2001 and was translated into 11 languages, and was San Francisco’s “One City, One Book” in 2007. She has been featured in People Magazine, O Magazine, More Magazine, Good Housekeeping, The Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She has appeared as a speaker for the Library of Congress and National Book Festival, the California Governor’s Conference for Women, and African American Librarians. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate.
