Book Review: The Seven Daughters of Dupree

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This is my book review of The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams. The story follows seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love and loss and struggle to uncover the secrets in their families.

In 1995, 14-year-old Tati yearned to learn who her father was. Her mother, Nadia, refused to tell her, and her grandmother, Gladys, is mum about the matter. Gladys has always been silent about the family’s past and has told no one why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953.

But Tati is not deterred by this wall of silence. She digs deeper and uncovers an entire legacy of family secrets. But the answers she finds only raise more questions as the past echoes into the present.

Book Excerpt

“What happens to light-skinned women in the South assumed to be uppity because you walk with your head high down a dirt road on Sunday morning to get the word. What happens when white men in a pickup truck drive past you high off shine and drunk out of their minds, huh? What happens?”

Violence, racism, and silence shaped every generation of the Dupree women. They experienced abuse and loss, but were strong in the face of it. It began with an enslaved ancestor who risked her life for freedom and paid the price.

The Dupree women were bound by a mysterious malediction that meant they would only give birth to daughters.

My Review:

This book is a well-crafted book about the generational stories of the Dupree women. It is an excellent page-turning novel about the multi-generational lives of women challenged by black womanhood. These women suffered mainly because of their gender and their race.

This story is about women raising their children alone while struggling to earn money to support them.

An interesting book, especially if you like to read historical novels about the generations of one family.

About the Author:

Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy Award-winning producer. She is also an award-winning author and the producer and host of the Black & Published podcast. A narrative strategist by day, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Essence, and Vox, among others.

Nikesha’s writing has been supported by the Kimbilio Fiction Fellowship, the de Groot Foundation, and the Tin House Summer Workshop. A Chicago native, she lives in Florida with her family.