People of Means

Johnson's sophomore historical novel follows up her bestselling 2021 debut The Kindest Lie. In 1959 Nashville, Freda travels from Chicago to study at Nashville's Fisk University and becomes active in the Civil Rights movement, in the process falling a little bit in love with two men—one a hardscrabble activist, the other a doctor-in-training who's acquainted with her well-to-do family back home and as committed as Freda's father to the promise of Black excellence. In 1992 Chicago, Freda's daughter Tulip knows nothing of her mother's history of activism, or about the other man she was in love with long ago. Tulip is working hard to secure a promotion at her PR firm, even though it often feels the deck is stacked against her. But when the Rodney King verdict makes an activist of Tulip, she kicks off a chain of events that alter her romantic relationship, her job, and ultimately expose secrets her mother has been keeping for thirty years. I listened to the audio narrated by Bahni Turpin, who's always a favorite.