Freeman's: Family is the second literary anthology in the series
reviewers are calling "bold" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) and
"refreshing" (Chicago Literati). Following a debut issue on the theme of
"Arrival," Freeman circles a new topic whose definition is constantly
challenged by the best of our writers: family.
In an essay called Crossroads, Aminatta Forna muses on the legacy of
slavery as she settles her family in Washington, DC, where she is
constantly accused of cutting in line whenever she stands next to her
white husband. Families are hardly stable entities, so many writers
discover. Award-winning novelist Claire Vaye Watkins delivers a stunning
portrait of a woman in the throes of postpartum depression. Booker Prize
winner Marlon James takes the focus off absent fathers to write about
his mother, who calls to sing him happy birthday every year. Even in the
darkest moments, humor abounds. In Claire Messud's home there are two
four-legged tyrants; Sandra Cisneros writes about her extended family of
past lovers; and Aleksandar Hemon tells the story of his uncle's return
from the Soviet gulag.
With outstanding work from literary heavyweights and up-and-coming
writers alike, Freeman's: Family collects the most amusing,
heartbreaking, and probing stories about family life today.
