Rhonda McKnight has a way of bringing family, history, and complicated truths together without allowing one element to overpower the others. Writer in Residence is another beautiful example.
I really enjoyed the journey of self-discovery throughout this story. The story includes family secrets, unexpected truths, romance, forgiveness, and moments that make you think about how much of our lives can be shaped by things we never knew.
I especially liked how the book includes Gullah Geechee history and culture. This gives the story more depth and makes the Lowcountry feel central to the book. The story has a strong sense of history, community, and legacy.
What I liked most was the message about finding your own voice and understanding that your story is valuable, even if it is different from others.
Writer in Residence is a thoughtful and emotional book with many layers. Rhonda McKnight shares a story about family, identity, the truths we inherit, and finding the courage to tell our own stories.
Reviewed by: Orsayor
If Writer in Residence by Rhonda McKnight sounds like your kind of read, add these 7 books to your list!
- The Thing About Home by Rhonda McKnight
After her life takes an unexpected turn, a woman travels to South Carolina and discovers family, history, love, and a connection to home she never knew she needed. - Bitter and Sweet by Rhonda McKnight
Two estranged sisters return home after a family loss and find themselves confronting old wounds, family secrets, and a legacy that reaches back generations. - Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
Four generations of Black women share a home and a family secret that has shaped their relationships for decades. When one woman decides she wants something different, long buried truths begin to surface. - The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
A sweeping story about a young Black woman uncovering the complicated history of her family, her ancestors, and the land that connects generations of their lives. - Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin
Three women return to Martha’s Vineyard to spend the summer with the woman who helped raise them, only to learn she has an announcement that could change everything they thought they knew about their family. - The Secret Women by Sheila Williams
Three women grieving the loss of their mothers form an unexpected friendship and discover that the women who raised them left behind secrets, stories, and pieces of themselves their daughters never knew. - The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
Two young Black women in the 1950s find their lives connected through love, motherhood, ambition, and difficult choices in a story filled with secrets and consequences.
Family secrets. Black history. Love. Legacy. Identity. Finding your way home.
Which one are you adding to your TBR? 📚
