"Raise Up a Child": Human Development in an African-American Family

By Wendy Haight, Edith V.P. Hudley, Peggy J. Miller

Edith Hudley is an African-American grandmother who was born poor in rural Texas in 1920. In this beguiling book she tells how, through many vicissitudes, she achieved a better life for herself, her children, and grandchildren. But she is no stereotype. Without sentimentality and with considerable humor, she tells of both the privations and pleasures of her long life so vividly that she draws the reader into her world.

In this book she tells her stories to two white academics who know her well. At the end of each chapter, they provide an "interlude" suggesting what her narrative can teach about the process of human development. As each stage of her life unfolds, they make it clear how her character and convictions were formed.

Edith Hudley's convictions are strong, particularly about child-raising which has been her abiding interest as mother, grandmother, and "other" mother.

She has more than her own family's welfare at heart. She has definite views on education and parenting, and her attitude to physical discipline will spark controversy. Not that that will worry her. She has never been afraid to speak her mind ("You always were mouthie," one of her brothers tells her.) What she has to say is well worth hearing.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0190616539
• ISBN13: 9780190616533
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

uplifting

Hudley gives her life story. Growing up in 1920s rural Texas as a black girl. Through the long intervening decades, she endured hardship and discrimination. Yet her narrative remains unbowed and unafflicted. Granted, the prose is somewhat unedited, yielding a raw quality that could deter a reader. But others might find this very rawness adding authenticity to the pages. The tone is uplifting.