New York (State) - State & Local History, Women's Biography - General & Miscellaneous, African American Women's Biography, African American General Biography, New York - Regional Biography

The Seventh Child

Name: The Seventh Child
Author: Gloria Bley Miller
ISBN: 9780375406201

by Gloria Bley Miller

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Overview

Told with the irrepressible warmth and humor of a natural-born storyteller, The Seventh Child is the chronicle of a remarkable woman's life, and of three generations of an African-American family. The seventh of eight children, Freddie Mae Baxter was born in 1923 in rural South Carolina. When her father left the family, her mother had to raise the children alone, and Freddie Mae went to work - first picking cotton, then cooking for the white families in town. At seventeen, she decided to go up North in search of new horizons and a better life. Now, Freddie Mae shares with us the wisdom of her seventy-five years, and some vivid memories: from her childhood in the South ("Two cents was money in those days. . .") to her life in Harlem, where she played saxophone in an all-girl band ("We just jammed!") and danced at all the hot clubs ("Anyplace that there was music, you could find me"). Through good times, bad times, and the enormous changes she's lived through, Freddie Mae has remained steadfastly optimistic and emotionally generous.

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Editorials

KLIATT

In her mid-70s, Freddie Mae Baxter was persuaded by a friend to record her memories of growing up in a small town in South Carolina, the seventh of eight African American children raised by a mother who had been deserted by her husband. This oral history, by format a rambling, associational narrative, is loosely organized chronologically as Freddie Mae recounts growing up in a large family with little money but much love and sharing. At 17, Freddie Mae came north, settling eventually in New York. She earned her living by housekeeping for white families and helping to raise their children. Unmarried herself, Freddie Mae considers that, over the years, she raised about 20 of these children, whom she calls "my kids." In an age of neurosis and self-doubt, Freddie Mae Baxter inspires with her balanced sense of humanity: "I was down to earth and I got along fine." A marvelous mixture of generosity and common sense, she has led more than "a lucky life"; hers is the story of successful living. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1999, Random House/Vintage, 223p, 21cm, 98-54109, $12.00. Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Patricia A. Moore; Brookline, MA, September 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 5)

Library Journal

A 75-year-old relives her life from the rural South to Harlem; with a 125,000-copy first printing.

Booknews

A natural-born storyteller chronicles her life and three generations of an African-American family. Born in the rural South, Freddie Mae picked cotton, worked as a cook for white families, played saxophone in all-girl bands during the Big Band era in Harlem, and continues to dance just for fun in her 75th year. Her story is drawn from taped interviews. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)