{"product_id":"blessings-and-disasters-a-story-of-alabama-9781250206220","title":"Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom a \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker \u003c\/i\u003estaff writer and PEN award winner, a blend of memoir, history, and reportage on one of the most complex and least understood states in America.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In Alabama, we exist at the border of blessing and disaster....\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlexis Okeowo grew up in Montgomery--the former seat of the Confederacy--as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. Here, she weaves her family's story with Alabama's, defying stereotypes about her endlessly complex, often-pigeonholed home state. She immerses us in a landscape dominated today not by cotton fields but by Amazon warehouses, encountering high-powered Christian business leaders lobbying for tribal sovereignty and small-town women coming out against conservative politics. Okeowo shows how people can love their home while still acknowledging its sins. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this perspective-shifting work that is both an intimate memoir and a journalistic triumph, Okeowo investigates her life, other Alabamians' lives, and the state's lesser-known histories to examine why Alabama has been the stage for the most extreme results of the American experiment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Henry Holt \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/05\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250206220\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.38w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2025 pg. 10\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Alexis Okeowo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45484033900725,"sku":"9781250206220","price":24.64,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_f2f84c82-e9c2-439d-b6d7-58b0196cedad.jpg?v=1749566223","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/blessings-and-disasters-a-story-of-alabama-9781250206220","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}