All I Need to Get By (Paperback)

by Sophfronia Scott (Author) "For six years running I've had the dream, and in the dream my brother always dies..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Bob's Donuts, Henry Carter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Crita is the eldest daughter in the Carter family. Living in a small town in Ohio, she and her two sisters, Ella and Hazel, have grown up viewing their older brother, Linc, as a larger-than-life figure. His every accomplishment is a triumph for the whole family, and when he falls, everyone suffers. When Crita feels that her home is no longer a safe haven, she runs away to New York, where she becomes a successful tax accountant. When she is called home to deal with a family tragedy, she must contend with unresolved issues on the home front. Coming home means dealing with her sisters and the three men who have influenced her the most: her father, the omnipotent caretaker who values her intellect; her brother, Linc, whose destructive behavior has damaged relationships with those who love him, especially Crita; and Tree, the man who loves her unconditionally. This warm, engrossing story offers themes of reconciliation and sibling loyalty and a harrowing portrait of drug addiction. Scott will most assuredly be recognized for her superb storytelling. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Sophfronia Scott's writing is assured and the emotions are palpable. She's a writer to watch."
--Benilde Little, author of Acting Out and Good Hair

"Sophfronia Scott has written a wonderfully warm and wise portrait of family relationships, responsibilities, and going home again that mark her as a writer of depth as well as talent."
--Gail Buckley, author of The Hornes: an American Family and American Patriots: the Black Military Experience from the Revolution to Desert Storm.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading All I Need to Get By. It's a terrific book--beautifully written, really well-drawn characters, emotionally resonant. It's also filled with great integrity--not a false note in there. I'm really proud of you, as I'm sure all your family and friends are, and hope this is the first of many novels to come.
--Susan Toepfer, former executive editor at People

"Sophfronia Scott's words bubble over with love, anger, weakness, strength and the grace note of patience. Each chapter is a road map; each character is a tree, a landmark on a road that winds towards home, in all its shuttered complexity."
--Veronica Chambers, author of Mama's Girl and Having It All?

"Lorain, Ohio, is familiar territory to readers of Toni Morrison, but Sophfronia Scott makes it her own. All I Need to Get By is a stunning debut, a story of family and memory, and the stories we tell about both in order to "get by." The novel is equal parts profundity, humor, and grace, and its author promises to take a place among the best writers of her generation."
--Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Harvard University

"Sophfronia Scott's debut novel is wonderful. What is more heartwarming--and heartwrenching--than the story of a family torn apart, then woven together? Bravo!"
--Soledad O'Brien
-- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312318561
• ISBN-13: 978-0312318567
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,439,283 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Finally, Not Another Chicklet Book, April 6, 2004

By	"kmsairam" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

3.5 stars. :) This booked looked interesting and didn't seem like another typical "chicklet" book (a la bridget jones's diary). It took me a while to get into the story though. Although I can identify with Crita's (main character) background, there was something about her speech and attitude that wasn't jibing for me. The book picked up for me when the main character moved back home and interacted with her family. Still, there were many times when I didn't LIKE Crita. I think it was just frustrating to see how she had enabled her brother for sooooo many years. It was like, "alright already!" I loved the sister Hazel and might have enjoyed the story more from her perspective. All in all, I think Sophronia Scott's book was well done. What did it for me was the careful weaving of each family member's personality -- showing how they grew from childhood to adults and all the influences that made them who they are. It was very insightful. Looking forward to the next book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh voice -- on an under-treated topic, March 22, 2004

By	Anne Mini (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How much do we owe our families -- and how much do we owe ourselves? These are the central questions at the core of the beautifully written All I Need To Get By. And after reading the book, it truly is striking to realize just how few contemporary novels recognize that most of us do feel that our families are more than merely a sum of its parts. These intangible links, so hard to break, form our characters and mould the way we interact with the world.

To discuss the premise is to be drawn into revealing the plot, so let me keep it simple: this is a book that will stay with you long after you close the book. The characters feel so real, it is as though they are friends of friends. Their struggles are not easily-solved, movie-of-the-week difficulties, but honest-to-goodness real-world Gordian knots: drug use, co-dependency, mortality, learned helplessness, deep-down rage, and fear. And yet, out of this morass of human struggle, Crita's dogged determination to make her little corner of the world better transforms this novel ultimately into an uplifting story.

In short, this is a novel well worth reading, on a topic that has long deserved serious consideration. Sophfronia Scott is an author well worth watching in the future.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your family is your family, no matter what, April 19, 2004

By	Mwabi - See all my reviews

I was ready to read yet another African-American novel with the same formula - I need a man, I have a gay best friend. Thankfully 'All I need to get by' followed it's own formula. Yes we have a little bit of New York in this novel but the majority of it takes place in Ohio. Many authors forget that there is a whole population that doesn't reside in New York and L.A. Sophfronia Scott makes the Carter family a family we want to know. The conversations between mother daughter, sister brother, sister sister, father daughter, father son make you understand this family in a way that makes put off reading that last page. The flashbacks were well placed throughout the book. I absolutely loved this book and the way the author gave the story to us straight....no fluff here.

Mwabi
Mahogany Book Club
Lexington, KY