Coming of Age in Mississippi

By: Anne Moody

Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts

Born to a poor couple who were tenant farmers on a plantation in Mississippi, Anne Moody lived through some of the most dangerous days of the pre-civil rights era in the South. The week before she began high school came the news of Emmet Till's lynching. Before then, she had "known the fear of hunger, hell, and the Devil. But now there was…the fear of being killed just because I was black." In that moment was born the passion for freedom and justice that would change her life.

An all-A student whose dream of going to college is realized when she wins a basketball scholarship, she finally dares to join the NAACP in her junior year. Through the NAACP and later through CORE and SNCC she has first-hand experience of the demonstrations and sit-ins that were the mainstay of the civil rights movement, and the arrests and jailings, the shotguns, fire hoses, police dogs, billy clubs and deadly force that were used to destroy it.

A deeply personal story but also a portrait of a turning point in our nation's destiny, this autobiography lets us see history in the making, through the eyes of one of the footsoldiers in the civil rights movement.  

©1968 Anne Moody (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Simply one of the best, Anne Moody's autobiography is an eloquent, moving testimonial to...courage." (Chicago Tribune)

Emotional book

This book had my emotions like a roller coaster . Although I wanted more at the end .

fabulouse book

amazing book on one of the three that sat on the Woolworth counter during the Civil rights movements.
Watch https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2330728/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk. Anne Moody unfortunately was not here for this.

excellent narration

the story is one for the history books, but the way it was delivered was impeccable. it was difficult not to get drawn in. sometimes it felt as though you were right there with the author

Riveting until the very end!

This book was one of the best that I’ve listened to in a long time. The fact that someone had to endure all that Ann Moody did and still be able to get a college degree while helping others is phenomenal.

The over all language is rated R

I disliked the bad language and content, rated R not made for kids to listen to at all