More than I Imagined
What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew
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Narrated by:
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John Blake
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Written by:
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John Blake
About this listen
An award-winning journalist tells the “riveting” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) story of his quest to reconcile with his white mother and the family he’d never met—and how faith brought them all together.
“A compelling and courageous journey that bears witness to the realities of systemic racism, the complexity of identity within that system, and the possibilities of reconciliation.”—Robin DiAngelo, New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility
WINNER: The Christopher Award; The Illumination Award; The Nonfiction Book Award; Georgia Center’s “A Book All Georgians Should Read”; The Nautilus Award; Georgia Author of the Year Award
John Blake grew up in a notorious Black neighborhood in inner-city Baltimore that became the setting for the HBO series The Wire. There he became a self-described “closeted biracial person,” hostile toward white people while hiding the truth of his mother’s race. The son of a Black man and a white woman who met when interracial marriage was still illegal, Blake knew this much about his mother: She vanished from his life not long after his birth, and her family rejected him because of his race.
But at the age of seventeen, Blake had a surprise encounter that uncovered a disturbing family secret. This launched him on a quest to reconcile with his white family. His search centered on two questions: “Where is my mother?” and “Where do I belong?” More Than I Imagined is Blake’s propulsive true story about how he answered those questions with the help of an interracial church, a loving caregiver’s sacrifice, and an inexplicable childhood encounter that taught him the importance of forgiveness.
Blake covered some of the biggest stories about race in America for twenty-five years before realizing that “facts don’t change people, relationships do.” He owes this discovery to “radical integration,” which was the only way forward for him and his family—and is the only way forward for America as a multiracial democracy. More Than I Imagined is a hopeful story for our difficult times.
Praise for More Than I Imagined
“An incredibly moving memoir that both examines and complicates our understanding of race in America today, More Than I Imagined is overflowing with empathy and full of humanity.”—Clint Smith, New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed
“This is a book of gutsy hope and not of despair, of reconciliation and not of hatred. Both sides of the racial divide need the voice that Blake is uniquely qualified to offer.”—Philip Yancey, author of What’s So Amazing About Grace?
What the critics say
“This memoir surprised me over and over again. John Blake’s life reads like a thriller but, like his reporting at CNN, is packed with pockets of compassion and wisdom.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist
“More Than I Imagined is a powerful chronicle of John Blake’s journey that lays out a clear path toward racial healing—not just for his own family but the entire United States.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“More Than I Imagined testifies to the deepest truth that America cannot change unless Americans change. John Blake’s tender, powerful reckoning with his family’s history, secrets, myths, and divisions shows how we as a country can find a pathway to wholeness.”—Eric Liu, author of Become America
What listeners say about More than I Imagined
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- Kindle Customer
- 2023-07-29
Deeply touching personal story
The way John tells the story of his childhood, and growing up struggling with family relationships, identity and belonging is deeply touching. How in later years he was able to find the people and perspective to learn and grow was inspiring. In the end it really was about a family finding itself and the people who directly and indirectly made an impact along the way. Beautifully written and narrated by the author. I would recommend this book not only for anyone who enjoys what I’ve described above but anyone who might be intimidated by other books discussing mental health or racism. Thank you to the author for creating a meaningful book for so many reasons.
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