Author: Co-host of National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered, Michele Norris was chosen as Journalist of the Year in 2009 by the National Association of Black Journalists and is cowinner of a Dupont-Columbia Award for The York Project: Race and the 2008 Vote. She has appeared on Meet the Press, Charlie Rose, and The Chris Matthews Show, and has written for, among other publications, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and The Los Angeles Times.
Book: The Grace of Silence: A Memoir, $24.95 Hardcover, ISBN 9780307378767, On Sale Date: September 21, 2010. In the wake of talk of a "post-racial America" upon the ascendance of Barack Obama as president of the United States, Michele Norris, host of National Public Radio's (NPR) All Things Considered, set out, through original reporting, to write a book about "the hidden conversation on race" that is going on in this country. But along the way she unearthed painful family secrets-from her father's shooting by the Birmingham police within weeks of his discharge from service in World War II to her grandmother's peddling pancake mix as an itinerant Aunt Jemima.
In what became an intensely personal and bracing journey, Michele traveled from her childhood home in Minneapolis to her ancestral roots in the Deep South to explore "things left unsaid" by her family when she was growing up. Along the way she discovers how character is forged by both repression and revelation. She learns how silence became a form of self-protection and a means of survival for her parents-strivers determined to create a better life for their children at a time when America was beginning to experiment with racial equality-as it was for white Americans who grew up enforcing strict segregation (sometimes through violence) but who now live in a world where integration is the norm.
Extraordinary for Michele's candor in examining her own complex racial legacy, The Grace of Silence is also informed by hundreds of interviews with ordinary Americans and wise observations about evolving attitudes toward race in America. It is concerned with assessing the truth of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's assertion that vis-à-vis race, ours is a nation of cowards, for often what is left unsaid is more important than what is openly discussed.
What: Michele Norris will be in Conversation with Vivien Jennings, Founder & President of Rainy Day Books, Inc., and discuss Michele's new Book and her life. The Conversation will last approximately One Hour.
When: Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 7:00 PM
Where: A Rainy Day Books Author Event at Unity Temple on The Plaza, Sanctuary, 707 W 47th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112
Admission Package: $24.95 plus Tax, includes from Rainy Day Books, One (1) Stamped Ticket, One (1) Guest Ticket (if needed) and One (1) Author Autographed Copy of The Grace of Silence: A Memoir (Hardcover) to be Autographed at our Author Event. All Author Event Book Sales are Final and Non-Returnable.
To Order Online: Click on the "Add to cart" button to Order a copy of Michele's Book and specify whether you need One or Two tickets in the Notes field as you complete the checkout process.
A limited number of Author Autographed First Edition Copies of Michele's Book are available to Order online. Books are Autographed directly on the Full Title Page by the Author. All Author Autographed Book Orders are Final and Non-Returnable.