My Selma

True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement

By: Willie Mae Brown

Narrated by: Karen Chilton, Willie Mae Brown

Long-listed, Audible.com Best of the Year, 2023

"Karen Chilton conveys both powerful joy and profound grief in her narration of Willie Mae Brown's stories about growing up in Selma, Alabama, during the Civil Rights movement."—AudioFile

The preface and afterword are read by the author.

Combining family stories of the everyday and the extraordinary as seen through the eyes of her twelve-year-old self, Willie Mae Brown gives listeners an unforgettable portrayal of her coming of age in a town at the crossroads of history.

As the civil rights movement and the fight for voter rights unfold in Selma, Alabama, many things happen inside and outside the Brown family’s home that do not have anything to do with the landmark 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Yet the famous outrages which unfold on that span form an inescapable backdrop in this collection of stories. In one, Willie Mae takes it upon herself to offer summer babysitting services to a glamorous single white mother—a secret she keeps from her parents that unravels with shocking results. In another, Willie Mae reluctantly joins her mother at a church rally, and is forever changed after hearing Martin Luther King Jr. deliver a defiant speech in spite of a court injunction.

Infused with the vernacular of her Southern upbringing, My Selma captures the voice and vision of a fascinating young person—perspicacious, impetuous, resourceful, and even mystical in her ways of seeing the world around her—who gifts us with a loving portrayal of her hometown while also delivering a no-holds-barred indictment of the time and place.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2023 Willie Mae Brown (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

“Brown uses language effectively to bring the times to life, and emerging from the retelling of her history are portraits of people who shaped her thought patterns and ways of being in her formative years. A panoramic yet intimate depiction of a family experiencing radical social changes.”—Kirkus Reviews

Genuine and refreshing

Very different and very refreshing. Unpredictable but real. You know the truth when you read it. Images lift off the pages. You’re immediately transported. You can see very clearly Selma in an untold light. Makes you wonder if these voices were suppressed. Most information about Selma just points to the Edmund Pettis Bridge or other civil rights events. This book is the details of Selma life from African American joy to struggle. I understood the how’s, why’s, and the so, that’s who they really were. You become a participant rather than a reader that’s a researcher.

This is an incredible story that deserves to be shared with the world!

This is an incredible story that deserves to be shared with the world! I had the honor of hearing Willie Mae Brown speak at a librarian conference in Alabama. She was there to accept an award for “My Selma” and I had the pleasure of speaking with her after the event. She is an amazing person and a great storyteller. Thank you.

Great!

The interspersment of the mundanity of a child's life with the dangers of life in 1960s Selma and at times the heart stopping accounts of historic events makes for a great story. thank you!

Beautiful telling of ugly truth

Some passages read like poetry. Sadly, the battle continues despite the passage of time. Rich history combined with personal experiences .

Wow

This brings Selma and the fight for freedom alive, as seen first hand. Thank you for sharing your stories.

The people in this story never backing down to fight for justice!!

Dislike racism of all kinds - we are ALL equal no matter what race