Lovely One, Ketanji Brown Jackson
Lovely One, Ketanji Brown Jackson
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Lovely One
A Memoir

Bestseller

Author: Ketanji Brown Jackson

Narrator: Ketanji Brown Jackson

Unabridged: 18 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/03/2024

Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her “vulnerable, tender, and infinitely inspirational” (Oprah Daily) memoir, the first Black woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States chronicles her extraordinary life story.

“A billowingly triumphant American tale.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

With this unflinching account, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson invites readers into her life and world, tracing her family’s ascent from segregation to her confirmation on America’s highest court within the span of one generation.
 
Named “Ketanji Onyika,” meaning “Lovely One,” based on a suggestion from her aunt, a Peace Corps worker stationed in West Africa, Justice Jackson learned from her educator parents to take pride in her heritage since birth. She describes her resolve as a young girl to honor this legacy and realize her dreams: from hearing stories of her grandparents and parents breaking barriers in the segregated South, to honing her voice in high school as an oratory champion and student body president, to graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, where she performed in musical theater and improv and participated in pivotal student organizations.
 
Here, Justice Jackson pulls back the curtain, marrying the public record of her life with what is less known. She reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don’t look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood.
 
Through trials and triumphs, Justice Jackson’s journey will resonate with dreamers everywhere, especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and refuse to be turned aside. This moving, openhearted tale will spread hope for a more just world, for generations to come.

About The Author

Ketanji Brown Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami, Florida. She received her undergraduate and law degrees, both with honors, from Harvard University, then served as a law clerk for three federal judges, including Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson subsequently practiced law in the private sector, worked as an attorney and later as Vice Chair and Commissioner of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and served as an assistant federal public defender. In 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Jackson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2021, Jackson made history in 2022 when President Joseph Biden nominated her as an Associate Justice. The first Black woman ever confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, she took her seat on June 30, 2022.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Hannah on September 14, 2024

She was supposed to be in Houston last month to promote and read from this book. My friend and I were set to go, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Now that I’ve read the book, I’m doubly disappointed. I hope she makes it out here after all. This book makes me wonder what the founding fathers w......more

Goodreads review by Trish on October 30, 2024

Ketanji Brown Jackson really is special. During the reading of this book I cried numerous times, and my admiration grew even as I read of her accomplishments. Yes, Brown had opportunities, but what struck me is how she managed to wrangle those opportunities so they worked toward her ultimate goal, s......more

Goodreads review by Bob on October 01, 2024

The key for me to a successful biography is if it fully captures its subject's personality Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's biography perfectly captures the her high intelligence and sense of modesty that she that came through in her recent interviews promoting her memoir. Justice Jacks......more

Goodreads review by Donna on October 13, 2024

3.5 Stars. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Justice Jackson herself. She is a good narrator, and even includes some singing. This memoir covers Jackson’s life from her early childhood up until she is sworn into the US Supreme Court. This is a very inspiring, uplifting, straightforward......more

Goodreads review by Clif on April 21, 2025

This is an interesting well written memoir by a truly extraordinary woman. Her family’s ascent from segregation to her confirmation to the Supreme Court within the span of one generation is an inspirational reminder of social and political progress that has been made, though to me it seems things at......more

Quotes

“[A] billowingly triumphant American tale of early promise fulfilled.”—The New York Times
 
“Vulnerable, tender, and infinitely inspirational, this book will make you proud of how far our country has come and riled up to help carry us where we need to go—which for [Ketanji Brown] Jackson may yet include the Broadway stage.”—Oprah Daily
 
“Once again, a gift has arrived in this country—brown-skinned, brilliant, and beautiful. Morally sound and truly believing in liberty and justice for all.”—Jacqueline Woodson, Elle

“An intimate look at her rise to the nation’s highest court, balancing motherhood, personal struggles, and a deep commitment to justice and public service.”—Essence

“More than most, [Jackson] understands the ways in which racism still constrains American society. But more than most, she also understands that this is not the end of the story: ‘It is true that not everyone was represented at the table when our country was being birthed. . . . Yet the principles of liberty and equality that the framers adopted . . . mean that every citizen can now enter those rooms.’”—The Washington Post

“A well-written, intriguing, and quintessentially American story about a fascinating woman who is truly the embodiment of what is possible in the United States because of its freedoms and in spite of its flaws—lovely indeed. A terrific memoir.”—Kirkus Reviews

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