Customer Reviews

Always Wear Joy: My Mother Bold and Beautiful

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Susan Fales Hill, a writer and producer of such shows as A Different World and Linc's, learned her life lessons from her mother Josephine Premice, a singer and stage actress who never received the acclaim or attention that she deserved. Fales-Hill tries to rectify this situation by writing a loving memoir of her mother. Premice, who made sporadic television appearances here and there during the last decade of her life, always maintained her dignity whatever the situation be it a philandering husband or Hollywood executives full of arrogant ignorance who believed that she wasn't representative of Black women.

Fales interweaves her own struggles as a writer in Hollywood and finds that her experiences parallel her mother's. Along the way, we are introduced to writers and producers who lecture Fales-Hill that characters such as Denise Huxtable are "not Black enough." We also learn of the struggles of Premice's friends including Diahann Carroll who although more successful in her career than Premice also had her share of frustation.

To the Connecticut reviewer, a slight clarification...there is nothing "new" about this Black society which is the point that Fales-Hill continuously makes in her book. The Black middle/upper class has long been in existence but dismissed by those in the media who could help display that side of the African American community. All the more reason a book like this is just as valuable as works about the underclass.

More than anything, this book is celebration of a special woman by her loving daughter.

i loved this book primarily because of its' honesty and the beautiful relationship between mother and daughter. although there were tough times, there were also beautiful memories. her mother imparted very important messages to the author. i remember seeing josephine premice in bubbling brown sugar and thought she was fantastic. it's a shame that her career didn't go as far as it should have, but she did a great job raising her children and had lots of friends and people who loved her. growing up in nyc i'm not surprised about upper class black people. on some of the tv sitcoms that i've watched in the past i'm surprised by how silly they try to make black people look. i think the author's work on some of tv shows she worked on was really much better fare.

I have followed the career of Mrs. Fales-Hill since she was on A Different World. I loved Linc's, and when I read that she was writing a book about her mother's life, I knew I had to read it.

This book, at its core, is an homage from a daughter to a mother. The special bond that they share. There isn't a daughter alive that can't see themselves in the truthful and honest portrayal Fales-Hill reveals.

Reading the book, you also realize the depth of the difficulties for Black performers in those days. How literally there was no work, and you had all these extremely talented men and women and no outlets by which they could display their talent.

It's a history lesson.

I loved how Fales-Hill spoke about the world in which she grew up, and the outrageousness of being told by Hollywood that the life she knew didn't exist. I had to shake my head at that idiocy - being told by someone White, that the Blacks Fales-Hill wanted to show - didn't exist.

And People wonder why the entertainment industry has problems.

This book was honest, and thoughtful. It's a piece of AMERICAN history, and Fales-Hill struck me as someone who had finally come into her own and accepted ALL of who she is. By giving this testament to the Beautiful, talented Black woman that was her mother, she honors all of us.

As an African-American woman, I thank Susan Fales-Hill for giving us this piece of our history.

When I first heard about this book in Vogue a few days ago, I wasn't sure what to expect because I'm a white woman living in suburban Connecticut and never knew black people who'd lived the life that this author lived: growing up on West End Avenue, going to the Lycee on the East Side, attending Ivy League schools and having parents who were wealthy, well-travelled and famous. Wow!
A lot of my friends who are somewhat liberal--although still Republican--first read about rich black people a couple years ago in the "Our Kind of People" book, but now I'm really getting it. A couple of us realized that we had seen Mrs. Fales-Hill and a few other prominent black people at some of our favorite New York charity balls. But we didn't know them and didn't know how or why they were there.
Her life story and the people in the Our Kind book really make me realize how separate this country still is. There is no reason why whites, blacks and mixed race people with so many things in common, should live such separate lives. I had heard of Josephine Premice, the author's mother, many years ago when the play "Bubbling Brown Sugar" was on Broadway. Her struggle for jobs on Broadway and the world that often rejected her color, her husband and her children are a great story.

Sounds like the Detroit reader below got smashed on a 40 oz. of Haterade.

I am black, not mixed, and I would not lump this book in the "Mixed-Don't-Wanna-Be-Black" bin. People are what they are and if they have a white parent and a black parent, they are not the first and won't be the last so GET OVER IT!

Furthermore, I don't care if you have a black couple or an interracial couple, you don't see many people period speaking and reading 3 to 4 languages in one household, writing parodies of French classics for fun or working with legends like Lena Horne and Bill Cosby.

I highly recommend this book. Especially to black people who are secure enough to read a book by an Ivy-league educated bi-racial woman who steadfastly refuses to dumbdown her intelligence for the benefit of the Black Thought Police.

I loved the book ! I grew up in the same era as did Susan Fales-Hill and could relate to a lot of the world events and entertainment standards that she mentioned.
People used to always say that the Cosby show was too unrealistic and that NO Blacks lived like that. Well I grew up very similar to them and could totally relate, as did Ms. Fales-Hill. It amazes me that a lot of White Americans have no idea that there was a Black upper and middle class (and still is). They seem to think that ALL Blacks are on welfare and live in the ghetto ! In fact, one of the reviews I just read on this site, by a White reader of Ms. Fales-Hill's book said 'she never knew such people existed'. How sad.
My father exposed the entire family to all types of culture, art, the theatre, museums and many things mentioned in her book.
I grew up watching Diahann Carroll, Roscoe Lee Browne, Diana Sands, Sidney Poitier and others on stage in the 1960's.
I remember Josephine Premice as a classy, talented diva who deserved much more recognition than she received. I'm glad her daughter paid her this 'tribute'.
The only thing I would change about the book is I would add more
photo's. I would love to have seen more of Josephine's side of the family !

Her Name is Josephine Premice . Mother, wife, sister ,friend, singer, actress , dancer, WOMAN. This book is both impowering and beautiful . A true testiment to the MOTHER-Daughter relationship . This book is written with love and it shows .A life a a true legend and a woman well beyond this or any time . And im only up to page 181 of 280

Centrally, this book is a tribute to the author's mother Josephine Premice. To Susan Fales-Hill, she was a superstar,devoted mother and wife. Her parents were set up by a friend of her father's. Josephine, at first, refused him. Time permits and she accepts his offer of a date. The two eventually fall in love and their marriage plans wmake the front cover of The Chicago Defender, an African-American news publication. On the other side, the Yankee gentry hearing of this is shocked and dismayed by her father's choice of bride. His name is taken off the social register.
To some people, it would be a fairy tale. But this is Fales-Hill's world. They lived in thier own world where everyone was welcome. They entertained the likes of Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll, and Eartha Kitt. Beneath the marriage, Ms. Hill's father had a wandering eye and her mother, despite her good looks and style, struggled to get the recognition she wanted in the entertainment industry. Premice was told she was too dark or not black enough. Hill defines her as a strong-willed woman who continued to live for the sake of her children.
What I like about this story is that it gives black women a sense of pride in themselves. Josephine and her friends took pride in their appearances even when things weren't in proper alignment. They managed to make it through good and bad times.
This is a time-honored book that will relate to black mothers and their daughters. Josephine Premice deserves her place in the entertaiment industry.

That's how I felt after reading this book. I didn't want it to end. It made me laugh, cry and remain hopeful. It also made me look at my own relationship with men and women--my mother included. It's one of the best books I've read all summer and certainly one of my all time favorites. I'd love to see it made into a movie.

Susan Fales-Hill quotes in her book ALWAYS WEAR JOY, "Here stands
Josephine, magnificent, unique, and undeniable" a humble
description of a great performer.

An award winning producer and writer, Ms. Fales-Hill exquisitely
recounts her mother's love of dance, the stage, music, and
family. Josephine Premice was indeed a diva and she wore that title
with exquisite grandeur among her family, friends, peers, and before
her audience.

Ms. Fales-Hill presents the journey of her mother's upbringing
and shares her triumphs, disappointments, strengths and weaknesses.
She allows readers to appreciate her mother's love of life and her
eye for finer things. She writes about Josephine's energy and
enthusiasm to perform on stage before a live audience. She reveals
the obstacles that stood in the way of Josephine's dreams and
goals during the Jim Crow era when Black actors and actresses were
not seriously accepted and were faced with competing for limited,
degrading, and stereotypical roles.

Epitomizing the true strength of black women, Josephine Premice
never gave up; she persevered and performed in such plays
as "Bubbling Brown Sugar" and "Jamaica" along with
guest appearances on TV shows. The Diva may not have achieved the
dream she worked so hard to obtain, but she achieved much more than
anyone could ever desire. Josephine gained the respect of family,
friends, and theatrical colleagues even after death.

Susan further depicts her own personal journey with a moving account
of being raised by interracial parents and how her father's
family over time eventually accepted her mother into the family.
She gives an overview of her coming of age in an environment that
boasted of privilege and glamour, and how that environment was
instrumental in helping to establish her career.

Susan Fales-Hill deserves an award for sharing with readers, the
depth and sincerity of her mother's life. The family photographs
displayed throughout the book add an elegant touch to the story and
increases the reader's awareness of the love that a mother and
daughter established over the years. This legacy is truly remarkable
and will bring tears to reader's eyes. ALWAYS WEAR JOY by Susan
Fales-Hill is a wonderful tribute to a Black Diva.

Reviewed by Kalaani
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers