The Seven Daughters of Dupree

De: Nikesha Elise Williams

Narrado por: Bahni Turpin

From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.

It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.

From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.

The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.

Wade in the water children

This was an amazing read. And the narrator was narrating bringing this book to a movie in my ears! Well done! Loved this. The authors format of this book was epic!

When the unspoken bond that ties is finally revealed

This story captivated me from the start. The story narrated from the various characters keeps your attention. Although it is seven women, all main characters, they all have the same story, one story in which all of us women can relate. Our resilience to keep going forward even when we are not healed. Our capacity to care for others even when we hide in the shadows of our own deeply rooted pain. But there is HOPE. With each generation comes another dimension of HOPE until the curse is broken and all, even from the grave, experience freedom. This story captivated me. Thank you for telling my story!

Amazing read!

This book was painfully realistic to me on so many levels. I could definitely see reflections of my own family experiences in the Dupree women and it was sickening to read the violence that our people experienced. It’s even harder to see that on many levels it’s still happening. However, the resilience and love that comes from truth is a powerful testament as well.

A walk down history lane

This book was well written taking us from the here and now to the past was woven together effortlessly. I was able to imagine myself living among our ancestors as the story was being told, also able to connect with Nadia and Tati as the bantered back and forth. Job well done!

Oral history of family lineage

I love the way the author highlighted how many Black people in America have at least maintained an oral history of their journey to this continent. Her research is evident in the many twists and turns in this story. On a side note, the university that Tati attends is the same one where my daughter is a rising senior—nice embellishment.