Raise Up a Child: Human Development in an African-American Family

Edith Hudley is an African-American grandmother who was born poor in rural Texas in 1920. In this beguiling book she tells how, through many vicissitudes, she achieved a better life for herself, her children, and grandchildren. But she is no stereotype. Without sentimentality and with considerable humor, she tells of both the privations and pleasures of her long life so vividly that she draws the reader into her world. In this book she tells her stories to two white academics who know her well. At the end of each chapter, they provide an interlude suggesting what her narrative can teach about the process of human development. As each stage of her life unfolds, they make it clear how her character and convictions were formed.