Quotes
“This luminous and assured first novel shines an unflinching, compassionate light on three generations of a black family in New Orleans, emphasizing endurance more than damage.” New York Times Book Review
“Sexton subtly lays bare the ever-present societal forces at work to undermine black success and family.” Huffington Post
“The story moves through three generations of a black family, each represented by a character whose sections are delivered by three accomplished narrators. Bahni Turpin gives us Evelyn…Evelyn and Renard’s daughter marries a man who loses his job and becomes addicted to crack cocaine. Adenrele Ojo delivers these sections, her voice filled with anguish and dashed hope. Meanwhile, Kevin Kenerly’s mellow, resonant voice gives us a young man struggling to get off drugs and become a fitting father to his own infant son.” Washington Post (audio review)
“Narrator Bahni Turpin lays the foundation for the audiobook as Evelyn…Sexton and her narrators keep this family saga moving from hope to heartache and back again.” AudioFile
“Powerful…Despite the struggles, A Kind of Freedom glimmers with hope.” BBC.com
“An urgent novel that explores the legacy of racial disparity in the South through a poignant and redemptive family history.” Chicago Review of Books
“A novel about three generations of a New Orleans family, cut back and forth
so that each generation can whisper in the other’s ears, beautifully intimate
and heartbreaking, and also a portrait of America.” The Millions
“Being able to capture seventy years of New Orleans history and the emotional changes in one family in such a short book is a testament to Sexton’s powers of descriptive restraint.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“This family is worth every minute of a reader’s time.” Booklist
“Shows us that hard work does not guarantee success and that progress doesn’t always move in a straight line…Well-crafted—and altogether timely.” Kirkus Reviews