Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood

This is a beautiful, moving memoir. It covers friendship, the love of family and how hard growing up can be. I loved how easy it was to read, the beginning is engaging and interesting. As the story got harder to read, and sad at times, I was completely absorbed and was rooting for and brokenhearted for the characters in turn. I'm so glad I read this one.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I finished reading Three Girls From Bronzeville at 4 a.m. I am sitting here pondering it. It is a deeply intense and personal memoir centered on Dawn, her younger sister and her friend since childhood, Diane. I have read several reviews that have a similar reaction. There but for the grace of God, go I. I have had the same thought when my mother told me of my childhood friends and what she knew of them, many years later. But the author was able to maintain contact when her friend Diane

They wrote letters and talked on the phone. When I moved away from the neighborhood, most of my friends had already left before me. But they were at each other's apartment in the same building and Diane's mother encouraged her to play with her.

There is a show more lot of tragedy at times, sadness and times that the three lives separated and came back together again. Dawn made it successfully, she worked towards a great education and career. Troubles at home bubbled up just like in all our lives but with the help of her mother, her favorite aunt and her grandmother, she had a lot of emotional support. Her younger sister was at first a follower and then a mischief-maker, but she needed more than what could have helped her a lot. I wonder, if part of the reason would be the difference in ages in the sisters, but only Kim could have revealed the truth. And Diane, at first, she and Dawn aspired to be nurses, But two girls when they were older had different interests. Diane's story means a lot to me. You can think that your life has become hopeless but with the right people, you can find redemption and forgiveness. I cheered when reading that part of the book.

Lastly, I felt very close to Dawn's mother when driver through the old Bronzeville apartment area and the area surrounding the landmarks that she knew. I am in between Dawn and her mother in age, But I have had the experience of locating my grade school that I went from 1st through 6th grade on Google Maps. I was shocked to see that the old brick building that I loved was replaced by what looked to me like a temporary for a building. I searched more and found out that school that I went to had been demolished. Gone was the grand main hallway, the stained glass window of Principal Funk's office. the very tall ceiling where the large Christmas tree stood with hand made ornaments from the children, the three floor auditorium with the flights of stairs the changed directions for every floor. All that is left is memories and I wonder what the other children remembered about that grand little school. I know exactly what Dawn's mother was feeling. You lived many years in that building, but it is gone.

I received an Advance Review copy from the publishers as a win from FirsReads. Thank you, Dawn Turner for your memoir and all your memories. I feel honored to be reading it. show less

Dawn Turner does an excellent job of portraying growing up in a black neighborhood of Chicago in the 60’s and 70’s. I grew up in a Chicago all white suburb during the same time period and our experiences couldn’t have been more different. The three girls Dawn, her sister Kim and best friend Debra all end up taking different paths in their life. Kim and Debra have drinking and drug problems. Kim’s problem ends up killing her and Debra’s problem ends up with her killing someone. Dawn herself ends up being a very successful journalist. It’s easy for people to think that if Dawn did it why didn’t Kim and Debra. This memoir makes one feel compassion and understanding about the path of everyone’s lives. I couldn’t put this show more book down. show less

The first third is perfect. Beautiful. The rest is really really good, just some structural awkwardness and the usual difficulties of writing memoir about being an adult rather than a child. The love and hope and honesty of Turner are profound. She brings in so many social perspectives yet never loses the heart of the story -- which is her heart, really, and the hearts of the loved ones she writes about.

Turner paints a vivid picture of the lives of these three girls each of whom had the potential to end up like Dawn. She also showed how Chicago created and then abandoned housing projects. I loved the strong families and the abiding friendship of Dawn and Diane.

really well written memoir about 3 young black girls who grew up in the projects of south chicago, and how their lives turned out differently from one another.

A very moving memoir about how life does not always turn out how we thought it would.