How the Richness of Story Changes Understanding: A Review of the Book The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wikerson

My copy of the book “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson a bit battered from use.

One of the primary reasons I began The Real Lives Book Club (RLBC) was to delve into the stories of real people by way of biographical non-fiction. Life stories are my passion and work. I interview people and then write narratives from their stories which, along with their photos, are turned into personally published books.

I wanted to gather with others after reading high profile biographies, autobiographies and memoirs so that we could recognize and discuss what we find in reading these life stories together. Thankfully, over the years wonderful friendships have emerged, and we’ve read a hefty assortment from across these genres.

With each book I’m reminded that life stories are complex with the most joyous and most challenging aspects of the human experience exposed. Although the details vary, we are each connected to humanity with shared emotions. Life stories permeate our sense of the world, offering a differing perspective that either affirms our own experiences or gives us an opportunity to question them.

Of all the RLBC reads to date, in my opinion the best we’ve read thus far has been “The Warmth of Other Suns,” by Isabel Wilkerson, which provides an intimate account of The Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the Northern United States during the 20th century.

Wilkerson masterfully intertwines the stories of three subjects, with the broader chronicle and history of black Americans from the beginnings of slavery in the Colonies through the Civil War and beyond dealing with the constant issue of racism as it evolved over the decades.

IMMIGRANT TURNED REFUGEE

Before reading “Warmth,” I had a diluted and naïve understanding of Jim Crow and the assault waged on Americans based on color. Wilkerson utilizes her adept storytelling skills to weave together the experiences of three individuals; Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, George Swanson Starling, and Robert Joseph Pershing Foster, all born at various times during the century.

She propels us on the journey from their youth through their old age, bringing us along vicariously as witness to their lives unfolding. Within the autobiographical accounts are chapters revealing the apartheid-style cast system, which continued well into the 1970s.  

It’s not just the high-profile episodes of violence detailing beatings and lynchings that stir our emotions, but the pervasive subjugation endured by citizens in daily life that drills home the insidious nature of racism.

We are afforded the experience, through their telling, of the indignities—to step aside on the sidewalk and let white people pass, settle for an inferior education, and accept one’s worth based on the whims of white landowners. We see the absurdity of tribalism and the rationalization of an inhumane system toward others that accompanies it.

It is no wonder that African Americans fled north. They left behind their homes, their families and a known way of life with the need for something better. But together we share in their illusions shattered when they discover that racism was not left at the border of the Mason Dixon line.

Instead of boldfaced bigotry, black citizens faced a more elusive but still dangerous evil. We share in Ida Mae’s dismay as her white neighbors almost immediately leave the neighborhood once she and her family purchase a home.

We are affronted by the white conductor who attempts to sabotage George Starling in his work as a porter on the rail lines. And we are perplexed when Robert Pershing can’t even rent a room because of his color in a northern state where there are no “whites only” signs to warn him.

And through their stories, we realize the terrible irony of the experience. They may be part of an expansive migration but are, in fact, living lives as refugees in their own country, having to contend with the injustice of prejudice that followed them in their exodus.

MAKING HISTORY INTIMATE

What made “Warmth” such a powerful book was Wilkerson’s ability to detail the experiences of black Americans in the intimate method of personal storytelling, which makes their lives identifiable to the reader.

I felt connected and able to grasp their feelings and thinking as they made the choices to move away from home and family in pursuit of something better. And although the details of their story differ from mine, I gleaned an understanding through their storytelling, recognizing the injustice and their determination to get out from under the weight of the dangers and limitations thrust upon them.

In the end, I was left grappling with how different their stories would have been if not for the impetus of racism that permeated their lives. And within that experience is the trajectory of aging and looking back with wonder on how things “might have been,” which is a shared experience for us all.

As always, I’m thankful for RLBC group who introduced me to “The Warmth of Other Suns” and the many other books that tell the stories of real lives. Through the power of reading, we are invited to walk in the shoes of others and ponder the meaning of a journey and our part of a shared human story.

Alexandra and Sherry, 2016

Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

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