| Title | : | How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0593241088 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780593241080 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published September 12, 2023 |
“A riveting book that invites you into the personal journey of one of the finest writers alive today.”—Beth Moore, New York Times bestselling author of All My Knotted-Up Life
For much of his life, Esau McCaulley was taught to see himself as an someone who, through hard work, faith, and determination, overcame childhood poverty, anti-Black racism, and an absent father to earn a job as a university professor and a life in the middle class.
But that narrative was called into question one night, when McCaulley answered the phone and learned that his father—whose absence defined his upbringing—died in a car crash. McCaulley was being asked to deliver his father’s eulogy, to make sense of his complicated legacy in a country that only accepts Black men on the condition that they are exceptional, hardworking, perfect.
The resulting effort sent McCaulley back through his family history, seeking to understand the community that shaped him. In these pages, we meet his great-grandmother Sophia, a tenant farmer born with the gift of prophecy who scraped together a life in Jim Crow Alabama; his mother, Laurie, who raised four kids alone in an era when single Black mothers were demonized as “welfare queens”; and a cast of family, friends, and neighbors who won small victories in a world built to swallow Black lives. With profound honesty and compassion, he raises questions that implicate us What does each person’s struggle to build a life teach us about what we owe each other? About what it means to be human?
How Far to the Promised Land is a thrilling and tender epic about being Black in America. It’s a book that questions our too-simple narratives about poverty and upward mobility; a book in which the people normally written out of the American Dream are given voice.
How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family's Story of Hope and Survival in the American South Reviews
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This book is beautifully, clearly, and honestly written. I’m grateful to Esau McCaulley for sharing his story.
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Esau is a gifted communicator and storyteller, so I'm grateful he chose to share his life's story with us. The ins and outs of it are full of the spectrum of human emotions. But a major note that comes through is a tenderness and compassion towards those in his life.
He narrates the audio version himself, too - highly recommend. -
Beautiful. In addition to his wonderful scholarly work in Reading While Black, you see here that Esau McCaulley is a gifted story-teller as well. I look forward to reading everything he writes.
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As readers, we have a tendency to compartmentalize our reading choices. The subtitle of How Far to the Promised Land: One Black Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South shouts, “Race book!” Then, the first few chapters about author Esau McCaulley’s impoverished childhood land the book in the “Rags to Riches” biography category. And it just so happens that McCaulley is a believer and mentions Jesus, so say hello to category three: Christian non-fiction.
Fortunately, all this subconscious genre analysis didn’t get in the way of my complete enjoyment of the book’s narrative arc, a distinctly black account of one man’s experience of finding Joy. If you had a difficult childhood, you will identify with McCaulley’s struggle to fit education and vocation into the world he knew. If you didn’t grow up with a difficult childhood, the book will open your eyes and mind to the reality that family dysfunction, drug addiction, and hopelessness are simply the water many kids are born into—and swimming lessons are hard to come by. -
Just read a beautiful opinion piece by this author in The NY Times about Easter.
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Beautifully written, meaningfully told family history, and finding one's place in it.
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I listened to the audiobook read by the author which was excellent. Through his narrative and memories I really got insight into the struggles and injustices of growing up black in the American South.
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Ps 119:111 reads, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” This book beautifully captures God’s redemptive work in the midst of a complicated and messy heritage. McCaulley’s acknowledgement of his father’s sin and further, his response of understanding gives us deep insight into the truth that no one and nothing is out of God’s redemptive reach. Would recommend!
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This book was written well. McCaulley's prose reminded me of John McPhee. I'm not sure how to put into words how this memoir moved me, but I appreciated McCaulley plainly telling the truth about his life and giving readers the great honor of peeking into his family life. There was so much pain in here, and so much redemption, and so much yet to come. I particularly loved one quote (that escapes my mind at this juncture, though I will return)
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I don't star my reviews, but I deeply appreciated the chance to engage with Esau McCaulley's story in How Far to the Promised Land.
And listening to it, slowly, not rushing over the pages with my eyes, was such a gift. For the past months, I’ve been soaking in memoir: Daniel Nayeri’s, Beth Moore’s, my own, and now this one, making materials, events. So I was waiting, listening, to know, how will he shape this? I knew almost nothing of his life, except for from your Reading While Black and a few talks. I found moments of fellow feeling (my husband feels about hiking as he does 😊) and a real shared sense of what it means to have a Christian calling just a little off brand from that you grew up in. I felt close to the author in tension before he chose in the French fry moment (wait for it) and in the tension before he said the words “I’m a Christian.” We hope so hard we’ll live out our faith, and the key moments come when we’re not always ready for them. I related to those moments—and the mercy of God—very hard.
I found most meaningful, however, the way EM's story worked through the difficulty of having so many scripts given (his metaphor, “script,” which I found so helpful!), and went back and forth between following a script and hoping it’d work, and needing to go off script, to make new/different meanings. So many scripts and story shapes press on us: do we follow them? How do we navigate audiences that expect certain things from us according to script, that worry about us if we don’t? Economic scripts, racial scripts, the required “I love you” script, the romance requirement scripts, the here’s-what-being-a-Christian-with-a-call script, the personal-responsibility script, the systemic forces script, etc.
And most admirable did I find his increasing sense of the complexity of people’s lives: gambling house and vicarage often are the same house—in all of us. What mercy God has to love us through that.
I'm grateful for this work. -
One of the best books I’ve read this year, if not the best.
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Simply excellent. As humbly thoughtful and deeply insightful as one could hope. Neither a hero story nor a pity story, he manages to document the truth. People and life are complicated , both good and bad. And the journey to the promised land is a communal one.
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Must read!!! One of the most important and valuable memoirs I’ve ever read—up there with Beth Moore and Rachael Denhollander. My respect for Dr McCaulley only continues to increase.
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I choked up a lot reading this. McCaulley has such a beautiful capacity to see Jesus in his story and that of those who affected his story. Can’t recommend this book enough! Hard and beautiful read
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4.25 stars!
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How Far to the Promised Land is a truly powerful memoir. Esau McCaulley is an engaging writer that draws you in with every story. It was a blessing to read his life that deepened my ability to feel empathy. I cannot recommend How Far to the Promised Land enough.
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This book felt like I was sitting down with the author hearing his story one-on-one. Such a tender and beautiful retelling of his life and stories. His vulnerability was evident in every word and his story holds so much depth. Highly recommend.
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Powerful memoir told beautifully about a man but also about a people. Narrated by the author which made it even better.
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The Christian version of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me”.
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I almost read this beautiful book in a day. McCaulley is a gifted story-teller and I’m grateful he has shared not only the story of his family but deeply personal reflections that bear witness to distinctly Christian hope and compassion.
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I highly recommend Esau McCaulley’s new book, How Far to the Promised Land where he recounts his family’s story of trauma and miracle. He touches on themes of individuals vs tropes, exceptionalism, and ways the church came through for him — something encouraging as we hear so much about people deconstructing their faith due to disappointment.
To me, the book highlighted the tension between Galatians 6:5 about how each should carry their own load and Galatians 6:2 about how we should bear one another’s burdens. The stakes are high because heroes and villains can be formed by the same circumstances.
While McCaulley was able to press through with prayer and perseverance, his story highlights the many structural changes we could make as a society to strengthen vulnerable families and make it easier for people to get out of poverty: quality education, childcare, healthcare, just to name a few.
If you’ve been trying to get your head around the uphill battle faced by families facing generational trauma and poverty — compounded by structural racism — this is a poignant book that brings it home and warms your heart at the same time. I also recommend it if you’re struggling with how to love a relative who has disappointed you. -
Wow… such an honest, thoughtful and gracious book. Hard at times yet full of hope!
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A deeply moving autobiographical work. Really puts you in other people's shoes.
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Inquebrantable esperanza.
El autor nos sumerge en su vida extraordinaria, una historia de superación y resiliencia y nos lleva a través de las vicisitudes de su infancia marcada por la ausencia de su padre y la influencia de la drogadicción y la cárcel en su familia. El autor nos transporta a su infancia en la que, a pesar de la ausencia constante de su padre debido a su lucha contra las adicciones y su constante entrada y salida de la cárcel, encontró la fuerza para resistir los desafíos que se presentaron en su camino. Su entorno difícil podría haberlo llevado por un camino similar, pero en lugar de eso, eligió un camino de fe y determinación.
Uno de los aspectos más destacados de la historia es la resiliencia del autor. A pesar de las circunstancias difíciles, no solo logró superarlas, sino que también logró perdonar a su padre por su ausencia y errores. Su capacidad para perdonar es un recordatorio de la importancia de liberarnos del pasado y encontrar sanación a través del perdón.
El libro transmite una honestidad cruda y sin reservas. El autor no teme compartir sus luchas internas, sus dudas y sus momentos de debilidad. Esta autenticidad hace que su historia sea aún más conmovedora y accesible para los lectores, ya que pueden identificarse con los desafíos humanos universales que enfrenta.
How Far to the Promised Land es más que una autobiografía, es un testimonio de la capacidad humana para superar adversidades y encontrar significado en la fe y la resiliencia. Su historia es un recordatorio poderoso de que, incluso en las circunstancias más difíciles, la esperanza y la fe pueden brillar con intensidad.
Muchas gracias a NetGalley y Convergent Books por facilitarme una copia digital para su revisión.
Unbreakable Hope.
The author immerses us in his extraordinary life, a story of overcoming and resilience and takes us through the vicissitudes of his childhood marked by the absence of his father and the influence of drug addiction and prison on his family. The author takes us back to his childhood where, despite the constant absence of his father due to his struggle with addictions and his constant in and out of prison, he found the strength to withstand the challenges that came his way. His difficult environment could have led him down a similar path, but instead he chose a path of faith and determination.
One of the highlights of the story is the author's resilience. Despite difficult circumstances, he not only managed to overcome them, but he also managed to forgive his father for his absence and mistakes. His ability to forgive is a reminder of the importance of letting go of the past and finding healing through forgiveness.
The book conveys a raw and unreserved honesty. The author is not afraid to share his inner struggles, doubts and moments of weakness. This authenticity makes his story all the more poignant and accessible to readers, as they can identify with the universal human challenges he faces.
How Far to the Promised Land is more than an autobiography, it is a testament to the human capacity to overcome adversity and find meaning in faith and resilience. Her story is a powerful reminder that, even in the most difficult circumstances, hope and faith can shine brightly.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Books for providing me with a digital copy for review. -
Oh my. Esau has such a way with words and with story telling. I can’t begin to express all the emotions I’ve felt reading this through. This will be a book I read over and over. I need a 10 star button, for this surely deserves it.
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This was phenomenal. He’s such a good writer and his story was compelling and enlightening!
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A profound meditation on family, faith and race. I was moved to tears by the ending. Esau McCaulley's memoir should be required reading as we as a nation grapple with understanding what it means to be a Black man in America. McCaulley is unflinching as he describes the trauma of his childhood and adolescence-- the pain caused by an absent father and the anger fueled by encounters with racist police officers. But ultimately, McCaulley finds beauty and hope in his story and his father's. Highly recommended.
