Available:*
Library | Call Number | Material Type | Home Location | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Central Library | ML420.B818 B76 2014 | Adult Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction Area | Searching... |
East Delavan Branch Library | ML420.B818 B76 2014 | Adult Non-Fiction | Biography | Searching... |
Frank E. Merriweather Library | ML420.B818 B76 2014 | Adult Non-Fiction | Open Shelf | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
Being the child of a global superstar is never easy, but being the daughter of the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business"--that's a category unto itself. Like every little girl, Yamma Brown wanted her father's attention, but fame, drugs, jail, and the complicated women in James Brown's life set the stage for an uncommon childhood. She got caught in the same trap as her mother, doing things in her adult life and troubled marriage that, as a child, she'd promised herself she'd never do. The struggles she went through, both as a child and as an adult, make for a gripping read and, in the end, a profound examination of the nature of celebrity, violence, and survival. Though packed with celebrity appearances ranging from Michael Jackson to Al Sharpton, Cold Sweat ultimately focuses on an everyday issue faced by millions of women--domestic violence--and in this book Yamma faces it in an honest and powerfully moving way.
Author Notes
Yamma Brown is the vice president of the James Brown Family Foundation and the president and founder of Daughter of Soul Productions. She is the youngest daughter of Deidre Jenkins and James Brown. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Robin Gaby Fisher is the author of the New York Times bestseller After the Fire and Boys of the Dark , a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing, and a member of a Pulitzer Prize--winning team.
Reviews 1
Library Journal Review
The oft-used and cliched phrase "living in the shadows" takes on a different meaning in this offering, in which Brown details her contradictory and complex relationship with her father, James Brown (1933-2006). The Godfather of Soul's heavily documented successes, drug addictions, and abusive marriages frame the author's own abusive marriage to a businessman of questionable background. This memoir serves as a case study of the effects of parental relationships on mate selection as well as a discussion of the impact of fame (and its downside) on the offspring of celebrities. Matters that would be private among family members are played out center stage (e.g., domestic violence, contested wills, funeral arrangements, etc.), with each family member a character in a drama fueled by a combustible mix of emotions and paparazzi attention. Each chapter is framed by relevant quotes from well-known authors, philosophers, and others, which adds poignancy to the story. Readers will share the grief, disappointment, and successes of both James and Yamma Brown while wishing for a "happily ever after." Although this book is less about "the Hardest Working Man in Showbiz" and more about the "making of Dr. Yamma Brown," the daughter's perspective provides insight into the father. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in autobiographical accounts of the offspring of celebrities. Tamela Chambers, Chicago Pub. Schs. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
1 Your Father's Dead | p. 1 |
2 Three Funerals and Michael Jackson | p. 15 |
3 Walton Way | p. 29 |
4 An Ordinary Life | p. 35 |
5 Dad's Beating Mom Again | p. 45 |
6 Leaving Dad | p. 51 |
7 A New Life | p. 57 |
8 Adrienne | p. 63 |
9 Crazy Love | p. 71 |
10 Home from Jail | p. 79 |
11 Denzel | p. 83 |
12 Adrienne's Dead | p. 87 |
13 A Doctor in the House | p. 93 |
14 Committing Dad | p. 99 |
15 Prince Charming | p. 103 |
16 Meet Tomi Rae | p. 107 |
17 A Baby and a Wedding | p. 111 |
18 Texas | p. 119 |
19 All in the Family | p. 123 |
20 Broke | p. 131 |
21 Trouble in Paradise | p. 135 |
22 Back to Atlanta | p. 139 |
23 A Family Divided | p. 145 |
24 Contesting the Will | p. 151 |
25 No Place for Dad | p. 157 |
26 The End of the Marriage | p. 161 |
27 Protecting Dad's Will | p. 175 |
28 A Shooting | p. 179 |
29 A Suspect | p. 185 |
30 Cold Case | p. 191 |
31 Blessed | p. 195 |
Index | p. 199 |