EBOOK
High Yella
A Modern Family Memoir
Steve MajorsSeries: Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction4.7
(3)
About
They called him "pale faced or mixed race." They called him "light, bright, almost white." But, most of the time his family called him "high yella." Steve Majors was the white passing, youngest son growing up in an all-Black family that struggled with poverty, abuse, and generational trauma. High Yella is the poignant account of how he tried to leave his troubled childhood and family behind to create a new identity, only to discover he ultimately, needed to return home to truly find himself. And, after he and his husband adopt two Black daughters, he must set them on their own path to finding their place in the world by understanding the importance, of where they come from.
In his remarkable and moving memoir, Majors gathers the shards of a broken past to piece together a portrait of a man on an extraordinary journey toward Blackness, queerness, and parenthood. High Yella delivers its hard-won lessons on love, life, and family with exceptional grace.
In his remarkable and moving memoir, Majors gathers the shards of a broken past to piece together a portrait of a man on an extraordinary journey toward Blackness, queerness, and parenthood. High Yella delivers its hard-won lessons on love, life, and family with exceptional grace.
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Reviews
"In a memoir as gripping and relevant as James McBride's The Color of Water, Majors bares himself and his family with jaw-dropping honesty. Not since Kiese Laymon's Heavy have I felt the blood and guts on every page. With a page-turner that reads like a novel, High Yella unflinchingly examines the impact of systemic racism, sexism, poverty, and homophobia on one American family. In his struggle to
David Santos Donaldson
"High Yella speaks to anyone yearning to feel at home in their own skin, who need to know they can belong somewhere inside a less than welcoming society. As Steve Majors eloquently reveals a legacy of racial confusion through his own personal lens, he exposes our limitations and our capacities for love, tolerance, and generosity. His foibles and insight, especially when it comes to his own chil
David Tabatsky