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Dispossession

By: Tayari Jones
Narrated by: Gabrielle Union
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Publisher's summary

From Tayari Jones, author of the New York Times best-selling An American Marriage, and performed by Gabrielle Union, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020, comes an unflinching story about mothers and sons that will leave listeners reeling for days.

Motherhood isn’t easy, especially when you’re a mother of a Black son. Ten years ago, Cheryl jumped at the chance to send her son, Javonte, to an exclusive boarding school in New England - far away from Atlanta and the violence of the city streets. It was the American dream, or was it? Now settled in Vermont, Javonte is married and well-employed, but Cheryl hardly ever sees him, and when she does, her own son seems like someone she only used to know. So, when Javonte announces he’s coming home to Atlanta for MLK weekend, Cheryl calls off work, thinking this could be their chance to reconnect.

But a few days before the visit, Javonte cancels his trip.

After begging for the hours back at the white glove moving company where she works, Cheryl accepts a last-minute gig in her own neighborhood, cheered by the idea of a Black family moving on to bigger and better. But on her way to the job site, Cheryl learns the home’s occupants aren’t moving by choice. Over the next several hours, Cheryl must reckon with her own unresolved past in this searing story about family, race, and the lasting consequences of a choice that can’t be taken back.

©2021 Tayari Jones (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.
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About the Creator

Tayari Jones is the author of four novels, most recently An American Marriage. Published in 2018, An American Marriage is an Oprah’s Book Club Selection and also appeared on Barack Obama’s summer reading list as well as his year-end roundup. The novel was awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize), Aspen Words Prize and an NAACP Image Award. It has been published in two dozen countries. Jones, a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, has also been a recipient of the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, United States Artist Fellowship, NEA Fellowship, and Radcliffe Institute Bunting Fellowship. Her third novel, Silver Sparrow, was added to the NEA Big Read Library of classics in 2016.
Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She is an Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Creative Writing at Emory University.

About the Performer

Gabrielle Union is an actress, executive producer, activist, bestselling author, and most recently, a Time 100 cover honoree. Union starred opposite Jessica Alba on L.A.’s Finest, a Charter Spectrum original in which she was also an executive producer through her production shingle, I’ll Have Another Productions. The show received a 13-episode straight-to-season order for season one, and season two premiered on September 9, 2020. FOX picked up season one as part of their fall 2020 slate and it premiered on that network on September 21, 2020. Union formed I’ll Have Another in 2018 with the goal of telling stories centered on marginalized communities with their specific points of view in an authentic manner. In 2020, Union released her first children’s book Welcome to the Party, which was inspired by the birth of her daughter.
Union has a strong eye for business; she is a co-founder of the organic snack foods company Bitsy’s, and in August 2020, Union relaunched her hair care brand Flawless for women with natural hair to rave reviews. She is also the face of NY&Co’s 7th Avenue collection and has her own exclusive namesake collection through the brand. Her book We’re Going To Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated and True was released in 2017 and instantly became a New York Times best seller. Union serves as a leader and advocate for inclusion in the entertainment industry. She is also a champion of breast health and combating sexual violence.

Featured Article: The Best Black Audiobook Narrators to Listen to Right Now


A skilled performer has the ability to take the written word to new heights, infusing an author’s work with empathy, warmth, and excitement. And representation matters just as much for audio as it does for any visual medium: listeners should feel and hear themselves in art driven by powerful performers and authentic deliveries. We’ve gathered a few of the best Black audiobook narrators in the business and their can't-miss performances.

Audible Questionnaire with Gabrielle Union.

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What listeners say about Dispossession

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AWESOME!!!

Let me be the first to admit; I AM NOT a Gabrielle Union fan. Well, I was at one time and then it changed.

I have decided to change yet again. She was remarkable; transported me back to the SWAT...

The story, excellent, superb, gripping and touching all wrapped in one. Once I hit submit I am looking for the next Tayari Jones novel.

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enjoyed this very much!

I enjoyed this from start to finish. I was engaged, I cared about the characters, and I thought the reading was just perfect. I look forward to more from this author.

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great narration and cute story

nice story and Gabrielle's voice was a added plus that reminded me of her narration in class black films

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Great short story

I wanted more! I was surprised when it ended as I felt the story was just getting started. Great story and performance.

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Short yet incredibly powerful!

Amazing how a good author doesn't need to take up lots of space to captive the reader and leave them spinning at the end in awe at the raw emotions left behind. I am amazed how in so little space I am able to glimpse into the challenges, pain, & suffering of each character in her book. It is heartbreaking yet a story I am sure shared by many others in a similar fashion or perhaps a bit of the story needs tweaking but nevertheless the bottom line remains the same.

I am thoroughly impressed and grateful I found this book and read it. I definitely recommend it. 👍

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Very well done!

Great story and I quickly felt an emotional connection with the main characters! Narration was also excellent!

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I loved the authors intentions

Although, I loved the clear intentions and thought being doing the best you can, with the dispositions one can be found in. However I can’t help but feel like the characters have so much more to explore and no-one was left with closure.

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Well done

I like the narration for this story. A glimpse into one of many Black experiences in America. More apt is to say being poor in this country. The way the world views educated people of color in jobs others find menial without knowing their circumstances is shown here in the many characters. It deserves to be discussed, picked apart and analyzed so we can grow beyond this stagnant mindset.

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Short but very enjoyable

This author is amazing and great at getting you into her story right away. It’s a very poignant slice of life story. Very well done. Definitely worth the listen, wish it was longer.

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Feels like a true story

Enjoyable real life story telling, without too much pain and suffering. I would like to hear more from this author.

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