On Her Own Ground, ALelia Bundles
On Her Own Ground, ALelia Bundles
5 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

On Her Own Ground
The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker

Author: A'Lelia Bundles

Narrator: A'Lelia Bundles

Unabridged: 16 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/10/2020


Synopsis

Now a Netflix series starring Octavia Spencer, Self Made (formerly titled On Her Own Ground) is the first full-scale biography of “one of the great success stories of American history” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Madam C.J. Walker—the legendary African American entrepreneur and philanthropist—by her great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles.

The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Sarah Breedlove—who would become known as Madam C. J. Walker—was orphaned at seven, married at fourteen, and widowed at twenty. She spent the better part of the next two decades laboring as a washerwoman for $1.50 a week. Then—with the discovery of a revolutionary hair care formula for black women—everything changed. By her death in 1919, Walker managed to overcome astonishing odds: building a storied beauty empire from the ground up, amassing wealth unprecedented among black women, and devoting her life to philanthropy and social activism. Along the way, she formed friendships with great early-twentieth-century political figures such as Ida B. Wells, Mary McLeod Bethune, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Booker T. Washington.

About A'Lelia Bundles

A’Lelia Bundles is the author of New York Times Notable Book and bestseller On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker. A former ABC News Washington, DC, deputy bureau chief and an Emmy Award–winning producer, she participated in residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell while writing Joy Goddess. Visit her website at ALeliaBundles.com or on Instagram at @ALeliaBundles.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Hannah on March 04, 2025

I'm a little annoyed by this book. To be precise, I'm annoyed by the book cover. Specifically, I'm annoyed that it's a cover of Octavia Spencer with a Netflix sticker on it. I saw this show on Netflix during COVID. It was a pretty good show. So when I picked up this book, I expected it to follow the......more

Goodreads review by Regina Lindsey on January 17, 2016

On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by Alelia Perry Bundles 5 Stars and a heart When I came across this passage in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society book I captured it as a favorite quote because it resonated with me in terms of my reading habits. "That's what I......more

Goodreads review by Lois on March 23, 2020

I LOVED this. This is SO interesting! The author gives so much period details and peripheral history. Beautifully done! I'm off to watch the show at last:)......more

Goodreads review by Carol on September 01, 2020

Loved the mini series but the book reads like a textbook .........more

Goodreads review by Julia on March 14, 2017

This was an excellent biography of Madam CJ Walker. I was always really interested in her as a child and lately, in caring for my daughter's hair and establishing career goals, I've become even more interested in this inspiring self-starter. This is a great detailed account of her family life and ho......more