Amazon’s #1 release on Mother’s Day weekend
My Mother's Daughter: A Heritage of Faith, Service, Wisdom and Love
Endorsements
"We have always known of the deep and powerful connection of Black mothers and their daughters. Never before has a book captured the emotional, the spiritual, and the devoted love of that connection. Paulette Norvel Lewis' book does just that."
Ambassador Andrew J. Young
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
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"We have always known of the deep and powerful connection of Black mothers and their daughters. Never before has a book captured the emotional, the spiritual, and the devoted love of that connection. Paulette Norvel Lewis' book does just that."
Ambassador Andrew J. Young
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
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"My friend and colleague of many years, Paulette Norvel Lewis, has offered a book of joyful stories about Black mothers and daughters. Not only does it remind me of my own mother and her courage to enroll her son in Little Rock Central High School, but it also reminds me of the ability of Black mothers to overcome adversity in spite of the odds. This book is a beautiful reminder that we are our mothers' daughters...and sons."
Ernest G. Green
The Little Rock Nine
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"Paulette Norvel Lewis, drawing from her own ancestral history of strong Black women, has given us a treasured portrait of Black motherhood. Having known Paulette for more than fifty years, I can attest to her integrity, civic engagement, and tender strength that come from her own mother. Black mothers have often given the world strength, resilience, and wisdom of divinity. This book's truth has been waiting to be born."
Sister Patricia Caraher, O.P.
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister and
Paulette Norvel Lewis' High School Teacher
"After my mother's death in 2006, people often told me, 'You are your mother's daughter.' They were suggesting that my mother, Coretta Scott King, was being reflected through me. As is true for so many daughters, my mom is responsible for the woman I am today. Paulette's book, My Mother's Daughter, captures the spirit of those special mo
"After my mother's death in 2006, people often told me, 'You are your mother's daughter.' They were suggesting that my mother, Coretta Scott King, was being reflected through me. As is true for so many daughters, my mom is responsible for the woman I am today. Paulette's book, My Mother's Daughter, captures the spirit of those special mother-daughter relationships as well as her unique insight into what it really means to be empowered by our mothers.
My mother often utilized the skillful writings of Paulette Norvel Lewis for events, speeches, and correspondences. You will see this skillfulness show up in the many stories that are shared in My Mother's Daughter. I know that many will be inspired, uplifted, and encouraged as they read and digest these stories."
Reverend Dr. Bernice A. King
Daughter of Mrs. Coretta Scott King and
CEO of the King Center
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Paulette's book, My Mother's Daughter, is a thought-provoking reflection on how Black mothers have influenced and shaped the lives of many successful daughters and sons. Reading this book is not just a passive experience; it takes on a powerful journey of empowerment and inspiration. It encourages us to reexamine our own mother's role in
Paulette's book, My Mother's Daughter, is a thought-provoking reflection on how Black mothers have influenced and shaped the lives of many successful daughters and sons. Reading this book is not just a passive experience; it takes on a powerful journey of empowerment and inspiration. It encourages us to reexamine our own mother's role in our life. I had a revelation that I echo many of my 95-year-old mother's traits, from her insatiable curiosity and love for books and the arts to her commitment to political and social activism and love for humanity.
Like many others in the book, I realized that I could fulfill many of my mother's dreams that remained unfilled due to segregated times and justice denied her. My mother paved a path, provided love, prepared me for progress, and pushed me out into the world to pursue any possibilities. This book helps us all realize the tremendous contribution mothers make to society. Thank you, Paulette.
Floydetta McAfee, Journalist, Matron of the USNS John Lewis
and daughter of Mrs. Etta McAfee,
the first African American Social Director at West Point Military Academy
Excerpts From My Mother's Daughter
“My mother believed education like the devil believes sin!”
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“Mom, you must have heard them. They called me a nigger!” She calmly corrected me and said, “No, they did not.”… “I want you to always remember this: they did not call you a nigger because that is not who you are! You can never, ever, let anybody else define who you are. You must always define for yourself, who you are!”
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“… at my mother’s funeral when a former student, now a high school principal, gave his personal testimony about her. At age fourteen, he could not read. My mother asked him what he wanted to do more than anything else in life. He said he wanted to learn to drive a car. My Mother drove him to the Mobile Driver License Office where, together, they picked up all the driving manuals. Using the manuals, she proceeded to teach him to read so that he could pass the driver's license exam and achieve his dream. She always said, “There was no such thing as a dumb child. Only a child you hadn’t found a way to reach.”
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"Mom taught all four of us to read by the age of three.”… While we had the freedom to choose where we would go (to college), we did not have the choice not to go. As a result, my parents have four college-educated children with nine degrees among them--quite an accomplishment.
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My mother’s deep interest in the life and history of African Americans led our family to move to Tuskegee, Alabama, where she led the Red Cross, and my surgeon father led the NAACP.
The Honorable Constance Newman