Paulette Ivy Harris

You Know You're An Ivy If You're A Hamburger: A Memoir & A Tell-Most-All About a Family Raised with Love and the Philosophies of Life & Discipline (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

A sterling tribute that tops off five decades of genealogy research and previously published work about the author's Ivy family ancestral history. Includes AI-generated illustrations and archival photos of family members.

It's a candid and wonderfully engaging collection of skilled storytelling about an African American family of twelve, the Ivys of Breckenridge Hills, Missouri. The Ivys are a rich family, but not from money. They are rich with love: the love from parents, grandparents, and the love from siblingship. We come to know the childhood lives of an amiable family whose humor and alliance more than makes up for the material things they lacked.

Ms. Harris offers her portrait of an African American family in St. Louis from the 1920s to the 1970s. We're pleased to meet her grandparents as they inform us about the foundation of her parents' origins. Her parents are Ben and Ruth, and their story begins at their births in the early 1920s. America is recovering from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic, society is entrenched in racism and segregation policies, and crippling childhood diseases are prevalent.

We're present at the spark of infatuation in Ruth's teenage heart for Ben. We're on the inside as their love ignites and blooms into a forty-year love affair. We witness Ben's unwavering devotion to the love of his life, and witness a man do everything in his power to create a beautiful life for his ladylove and the ten children they bring into the world. After the first year of marriage, the oldest child of the Ivy Ten, as we come to know them, is born in 1942. The Second World War is in full swing, and the black community's protests for civil rights have become resolute. We feel the emotional and financial pressures Ben and Ruth undergo, like raising six boys and four girls in a society where blacks are denied full civil liberty and equal job opportunities to meet the daily needs of their family and to maintain their home. We glimpse their neighborhoods, their education, and religious beliefs.

Prepare to be charmed, however. Ms. Harris invites us inside their small suburban home to be under-roof with the Ivys, and we enter willingly. Pets greet us at the door. A place at the dining table is set just for us. We're in on the secrets and on the pranks. We feel their disappointments and calamities. We root for their victories and achievements. Our hearts and psyches absorb their house rules, philosophies of life and discipline, and we, too, emerge as "hamburgers."

As the sixth child in the Ivy Ten, Harris is perfectly placed to tell these stories about her five older siblings and her four younger siblings; the family that gave her shape and purpose. Her storytelling is humorous and at times heartbreaking. She is translucent and candid about her own childhood angsts which include personal setbacks, navigating puberty, and pipedream crushes. Rather than chronological presentations, her book is delineated by themes and incidents. Each story is succinct and to the point. She doesn't rely solely on her own memories. She also enlists the first-person recollections of her centenarian mother and her siblings. These memories infuse her stories with alternative points of view and varied personality, and with broader intimacy and sentiment.

Ms. Harris' book is sure to touch the heart of anyone who advocates family values. It's a testament to the impact that loving, faithful parents can have on their children and their resilience. Her book is a treasure trove of moments most memorable. It's a warmhearted tribute to this Ivy family. 260 pages

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Paulette Ivy Harris
• Erscheinungstermin: 19. November 2025
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9798232444235
• Artikelnr.: 75981152

Autorenporträt

PAULETTE IVY HARRIS' previous adult ebook, an anthology called UNEARTHED TALES OF DESTINED SOULS: Stories for Pondering Mortals Volume 1 (available in paperback at your favorite online retailers), presents fifteen action-driven stories in a variety of fiction genres including fantasy, romance, historical, Scripture-inspired and essay. It includes a unique perspective of the first Christmas as witnessed by a shepherd teenager. Other stories serve up a deep-dish slice from the lives of ordinary people coping extraordinarily with personal and social obstacles, such as love, oppression, racial intolerance, and loss. The stories will invoke reflection as you experience the characters' inner most beings which influence and motivate them.

In her adult ebook, BENEATH EVERY TROUBLIN' STONE (2012), Paulette uses her extensive research of American history and African American history to create Bernice Tulley, the historical fiction heroine in who comes of age in the early 1900s. It is the story of a woman who struggles for success in love, family, and business in a society where racial prejudice rules the times. It was inspired by a beloved great-ancestor in her family tree. In 2019, Ms. Harris is proud to bring this book to readers in paperback at your favorite online retailers.

IS THIS ALL I TRULY AM? (2013) is Paulette's second ebook for children and features her own illustrations in watercolors. This story of self-discovery is about Deer One, an orphaned fawn, who is fostered by a dog family and has to learn who and what she was created to be. Includes insightful Bible references.

RUMA, WARRIOR PRINCESS (2012) is Paulette's first children's ebook. This humorous story is inspired by a real puppy that brings joy back into the life of a mother and daughter who lost a pet.

In 1990, Paulette delved into a long-time curiosity: her ancestral roots. The genealogy bug bit her and her family ancestry searches turned into an eighteen-year hobby before it inspired her to write her first nonfiction book, ALWAYS A BLESSING IN THE END: THE CHRONICLES OF THE FOUR ANCESTRAL LINEAGES OF BEN IVY & RUTH THOMPSON, published in 2005 in paperback (available at select online book retailers). In it she narrates the discoveries and the lives of her African American ancestors from 1790 through the subsequent centuries. Her search to learn more about her ancestors continues.

Paulette Ivy Harris ...