The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A memoir of family, war and peace

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FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A TIME MUST-READ BOOK

When Wayetu Moore turns five years old, her father and grandmother throw her a party at home in, Liberia. Yet all she can think about is how much she misses her mother, studying in faraway New York.

Then war breaks out in Liberia. The family is forced to flee on foot, until a remarkable rescue by a rebel soldier.

But even in the relative safety of her adopted home, America, Moore finds herself - as a Black woman and immigrant - in a new kind of danger. Will she forever be that girl still running

Reviews

'Immersive, exhilarating... This memoir adds an essential voice to the genre of migrant literature, challenging false popular narratives that migration is optional, permanent and always results in a better life' - New York Times

'Wayetu Moore's memoir is a moving and richly drawn tale of a family threatened by violence in '90s Liberia and their escape from it. Out of this tumultuous experience, Moore has shaped a powerful, utterly convincing, and unforgettable story' - Chigozie Obioma, author of 'The Fishermen'

'In her bruising new memoir, Moore describes the perilous journey as well as her experiences of being a black immigrant living in the American South. Through it all, she threads an urgent narrative about the costs of survival and the strength of familial love' - TIME

'As the migrant experience becomes crushingly more common around the world, stories such as The Dragons, The Giant, The Women remind us just how personal and painful these displacements are' - Elle, Best New Books of Summer 2020

'Wayetu Moore has written an elegant, inspired, page-turning memoir I couldn't put down. Destined to become a classic!' - Mary Karr

Author Bio

Wayetu Moore is the founder of One Moore Book, an advocacy organization which encourages reading among children of countries with low literacy rates. She is a graduate of Howard University, Columbia University and the University of Southern California. Her debut novel, She Would Be King, described as "a modern epic", has been translated into multiple languages, and is also published by ONE. She lives in New York.