Audio only
I Am Nobody's Slave
How Uncovering My Family's History Set Me FreeBy Lee HawkinsNarrated by Lee HawkinsLength14h 44m
About this audiobook
“Harrowing and insightful. . . . A profound work about the Black experience and white oppression.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“This work is vitally important and essential to understanding the magnitude of the impact of racism and violence.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Gripping, thought-provoking, and personal, I Am Nobody's Slave will inspire discussion and action in response to its powerful message of inner healing and social justice.”—Booklist
A 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist and former Wall Street Journal writer exhaustively examines his family’s legacy of post-enslavement trauma and resilience, in this riveting memoir—a soulful, shocking, and spellbinding read that blends the raw power of Natasha Tretheway’s Memorial Drive and the insights of Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed.
I Am Nobody’s Slave tells the story of one Black family's pursuit of the American Dream through the impacts of systemic racism and racial violence. This book examines how trauma from enslavement and Jim Crow shaped their outlook on thriving in America, influenced each generation, and how they succeeded despite these challenges.
To their suburban Minnesotan neighbors, the Hawkinses were an ideal American family, embodying strength and success. However, behind closed doors, they faced the legacy of enslavement and apartheid. Lee Hawkins, Sr. often exhibited rage, leaving his children anxious and curious about his protective view of the world. Thirty years later, his son uncovered the reasons for his father’s anxiety and occasional violence. Through research, he discovered violent deaths in his family for every generation since slavery, mostly due to white-on-Black murders, and how white enslavers impacted the family’s customs.
Hawkins explores the role of racism-triggered childhood trauma and chronic stress in shortening his ancestors' lives, using genetic testing, reporting, and historical data to craft a moving family portrait. This book shows how genealogical research can educate and heal Americans of all races, revealing through their story the story of America—a journey of struggle, resilience, and the heavy cost of ultimate success.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★★ 4.6 (519)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon
GenrePsychology, Biography and Memoir, History
Length14 hrs 44 mins
Narrated byLee Hawkins
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJan 14, 2025
LanguageEnglish
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
AretéBrian Johnson19h 57m4.7 (2.2K)$35
Ullathin KuralPrem Rawat8h 17m4.8 (165)$18 · $0.00
Vax FactsPaul Thomas MD, Deedee Hoover10h 26m4.7 (577)$25
I Am The StormJanice Dean9h4.6 (1.5K)$8 · $0.00
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
TerraformPropaganda5h 39m4.7 (594)$24 · $0.00
Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett2h 44m4.6 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
Hour of the HeartIrvin D. Yalom, Benjamin Yalom8h 19m4.6 (2.3K)$26 · $0.00
The Thomas Sowell ReaderThomas Sowell14h 51m4.6 (2.3K)$25
So You Want to Talk about RaceIjeoma Oluo7h 41m4.6 (146.2K)$17
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
Level UpRob Dial7h 42m4.6 (3.3K)$26 · $0.00
As a JewSarah Hurwitz8h 36m4.6 (1.2K)$26 · $0.00
Saint Joan (Annotated)George Bernard Shaw6h 20m4.6 (1.2K)$1.20 · $0.00
Burn the HaystackJennie Young, PhD9h 30m4.6 (543)$29 · $0.00
Woman and the New Race (Annotated)Margaret Sanger6h 30m4.6 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Good InsideBecky Kennedy9h 55m4.5 (59.3K)$29 · $0.00
Du Bois: EssaysW.E.B. Du Bois6h 22m4.6 (1.5K)$1 · $0.00
The North American Indian (Illustrated Edition)Edward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge5h 59m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Send MeMarty Skovlund, Joe Kent8h 10m4.7 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
Left for DeadEbony Canion5h 34m4.7 (2.2K)$17
John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Annotated)John Muir10h 13m4.7 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
A Bridge Not Too FarDeepak Ohri4h 55m4.8 (179)$15
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
Scandal Between the Sheets & Stranded with the Tempting StrangerBrenda Jackson9h 22m4.8 (141)$24 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
The Boys and MeMark Miller8h 32m4.8 (218)$23
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Redeemer’s ReturnArthur W. Pink13h 18m4.7 (589)$20
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 9m4.8 (150)$1.99 · $0.00
RevolutionariesSanjeev Sanyal11h 23m4.6 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
Unbroken Bonds of BattleJohnny Joey Jones8h 31m4.6 (2.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Daughter of AuschwitzTova Friedman, Malcolm Brabant7h 54m4.6 (16.7K)$26 · $0.00
Lily's PromiseLily Ebert, Dov Forman8h 54m4.6 (16.1K)$29 · $0.00
Saving My EnemyBob Welch9h 11m4.6 (2.3K)$20
On Democracies and Death CultsDouglas Murray10h 38m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
Across the RiverKent Babb11h 40m4.6 (927)$29 · $0.00
The Red Record (Annotated)Ida B. Wells-Barnett5h 19m4.8 (102)$1.99 · $0.00
Balcony Over Jerusalem: A Middle East Memoir - Israel, Palestine and BeyondJohn Lyons12h 37m4.6 (1.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m4.6 (159.1K)$15
EnduranceAlfred Lansing6h 1m4.6 (40.8K)$20
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
Kings and PawnsHoward Bryant10h 9m4.6 (678)$29 · $0.00
No EscapeNury Turkel9h 30m4.6 (809)$28 · $0.00
You may also like
My Mess Is a Bit of a LifeGeorgia Pritchett4h 15m4.0 (7.9K)$20 · $0.00
Now I See YouNicole C. Kear7h 50m3.9 (3.3K)$20 · $0.00
The Keeper of StoriesSally Page10h 17m4.1 (115.2K)$25
Agnes GreyAnne Brontë6h 58m3.9 (118.9K)$23 · $0.00
You Can Have It AllGaur Gopal Das9h 45m4.5 (289)$18 · $0.00
Eight CousinsLouisa May Alcott7h 53m4.1 (45.5K)$2.30 · $0.00
Agnes GreyAnne Brontë6h 59m3.7 (145.8K)$1 · $0.00
The Boy CrisisWarren Farrell PhD, John Gray PhD15h 9m4.1 (4.8K)$23
He'll Be OK: Growing Gorgeous Boys Into Good Men , for those who watched the Netflix drama ADOLESCENCECelia Lashlie6h 32m4.1 (757)$24 · $0.00
Her AgainMichael Schulman10h 15m3.8 (3K)$29 · $0.00
Go Ask AliAli Wentworth3h 53m3.8 (2.2K)$20 · $0.00
The Best American Short Stories 2023Min Jin Lee, Heidi Pitlor14h 59m3.9 (1.3K)$33 · $0.00
The Year of the HorsesCourtney Maum6h 50m4.0 (1.4K)$17 · $0.00
Nikhil Out LoudMaulik Pancholy6h 12m4.2 (736)$24 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Henry James (Illustrated Edition)Henry James690h 22m4.6 (336)$1 · $0.00
Many Points of MeCaroline Gertler6h 54m4.2 (734)$24 · $0.00
Dancing on the EdgeRuss Tamblyn12h 26m4.2 (285)$25
Challenge Accepted!: The hilarious bestselling memoir and guide to life from the Australian comedy sensation, for fans of Toni Lodge and Tina FeyCeleste Barber6h 2m4.1 (9.2K)$24 · $0.00
Oh, SalKevin Henkes1h 25m4.2 (391)$16 · $0.00
The House SwapYvette Clark6h4.1 (451)$24 · $0.00