A New Yorker Best Book of the Year · NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Debut Literary Work
“This is a tender, deeply perceptive tale of what kin owes kin, and how we might work to mend old wounds together.”—Elle
In this stunning debut novel, four generations of complex Black women contend with motherhood and daughterhood, generational trauma and the deeply ingrained tensions and wounds that divide them as they redefine happiness and healing for themselves.
Erudite Evelyn, her cynical daughter Charlotte, and Charlotte’s optimistic daughter Corinna see the world very differently. Though they love each other deeply, it’s no wonder that their personalities often clash. But their conflicts go deeper than run-of-the-mill disagreements. Here, there is deep, dark resentment for past and present hurt.
When Corinna gives birth to her own daughter, Camille, the beautiful, intelligent little girl offers this trio of mothers something they all need: hope, joy, and an opportunity to reconcile. They decide to work together to raise their collective daughter with the tenderness and empathy they missed in their own relationships. Yet despite their best intentions, they cannot agree on what that means.
After Camille eventually leaves her mother and grandmother in rural Tennessee for a more cosmopolitan life in Washington, DC with her great-grandmother, it’s unclear whether this complex and self-contained girl will thrive or be overwhelmed by the fears and dreams of three generations she carries. As she grows into a gutsy young woman, Camille must decide for herself what happiness will look like.
In masterful, elegant prose, debut novelist Sarai Johnson has created a rich and moving portrait of Black women’s lives today.
BIO
Sarai Johnson grew up in the South, primarily in Nashville, Tennessee. She studied journalism and English at Howard University, and later earned a Master’s in Literature from American University. She has taught writing at both her alma maters and with several nonprofit writing programs in the DC area. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, daughter, and dog.
REVIEWS
“Four generations of Black women are at the heart of this tender and expansive novel.” -- The New Yorker
"[An] engaging, character-driven saga." -- Washington Post
"[A] stirring debut novel. . . . Grown Women joins a lineage of epic family dramas that erupt with long-hidden secrets, devastating losses and ghosts. . . . The novel deftly interrogates how expectations around motherhood might trap women, especially those who don’t want to parent in the first place. It also probes the external realities that can mar Black women’s inner lives . . . one can’t help but cheer when these women do manage to reach one another’s hearts.” -- Los Angeles Times
“A deeply satisfying multigenerational saga of a Black family. . . . Johnson brings new life to the age-old theme of a family’s cyclical dysfunction, and the narrative is packed with stunning self-reflections. . . . This is a revelation.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
[H] Harper / July 09, 2024
1.17" H x 9.29" L x 6.28" W (1.15 lbs) 400 pages
[P] Harper Perennial / June 17, 2025