My Family and I

A Mississippi Memoir

De: Adam Gussow

Narrado por: Robert Fass

What has happened to the dream of beloved community embraced by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement of the early 1960s—the vision of a just, humane, and colorblind America, a nation of "black and white together" animated by mutual respect and strengthened by the bonds of brotherly love? As Adam Gussow shows, the dream, although pressured on every front, remains alive.

At the heart of My Family and I is Gussow's determination to live out the meaning of America's creed—a quest for transracial brotherhood that takes him from a blues partnership forged on the streets of 1980s Harlem through graduate training at Princeton and, decades later, a transformative course on the blues literary tradition that he shares with inmates at Mississippi's notorious Parchman Farm. Anchoring Gussow's quest is a story of enduring love: an interracial romance between the newly hired professor at Ole Miss and his soon-to-be-wife that blossoms with the birth of a musically gifted son. As America explodes with protest and riots in 2020 after the death of George Floyd, as social justice fundamentalists insist on stigmatizing whiteness and hardening the color line rather than healing divisions, Gussow is forced to fight for what he loves.

My Family and I gifts the listener with hope for a future beyond America's seemingly insoluble racial dilemmas.

©2025 Adam Gussow (P)2025 Tantor Media

A Thoughtful, Honest, and Deeply Human Memoir

This book is not just a memoir—it’s a bridge across cultures, a reckoning with
history, and a love letter to his chosen family and community. With clarity,
humility, and courage, Gussow invites us into his personal journey, reecting
on race and identity in America. His writing style is engaging, passionate and
plain entertaining! I felt the narration was outstanding and added a lot to my
understanding and enjoyment of this book too.
I believe Adam’s perspectives as a University Professor, blues musician and
interracial husband and father are truly unique! What struck me most was
his ability to hold complexity with compassion. Whether describing his deep
connection to Black communities through music and friendship, navigating
the realities of an interracial marriage, including the raising of their musically
gifted, innocent son, or unpacking the privileges and blind spots of his own
upbringing, Gussow writes with uninching honesty, passion and
vulnerability.
This isn’t one of those feel-good stories where everything’s tied up with a
bow. It’s honest, real, and sometimes messy and uncomfortable in the best
possible way. However, this book offers a positive, healing path, shining light
on the importance of treating each other with respect, patience and empathy
if we are to further heal race relations in this country. In spite of the
prejudices we may be carrying from our past, Adam’s saga humbly relates
the true value and hope of just being a loving human being, even when it’s hard or
complicated.