We Are a Haunting

A Novel

By: Tyriek White

Narrated by: James Jones, Machelle Williams, Arischa Frierson

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

"What a beautiful, haunting and hued narrative of American living. I’m in love with this story and the way Tyriek White breathes life into these characters."—Jacqueline Woodson, MacArthur Fellow and author of Another Brooklyn

A poignant debut for fans of Jesmyn Ward and Jamel Brinkley, We Are a Haunting follows three generations of a working class family and their inherited ghosts: a story of hope and transformation.

In 1980’s Brooklyn, Key is enchanted with her world, glowing with her dreams. A charming and tender doula serving the Black women of her East New York neighborhood, she lives, like her mother, among the departed and learns to speak to and for them. Her untimely death leaves behind her mother Audrey, who is on the verge of losing the public housing apartment they once shared. Colly, Key’s grieving son, soon learns that he too has inherited this sacred gift and begins to slip into the liminal space between the living and the dead on his journey to self-realization.

In the present, an expulsion from school forces Colly across town where, feeling increasingly detached and disenchanted with the condition of his community, he begins to realize that he must, ultimately, be accountable to the place he is from. After college, having forged an understanding of friendship, kinship, community, and how to foster love in places where it seems impossible, Colly returns to East New York to work toward addressing structural neglect and the crumbling blocks of New York City public housing he was born to; discovering a collective path forward from the wreckages of the past. A supernatural family saga, a searing social critique, and a lyrical and potent account of displaced lives, We Are a Haunting unravels the threads connecting the past, present, and future, and depicts the palpable, breathing essence of the neglected corridors of a pulsing city with pathos and poise.

©2023 Tyriek White (P)2023 Spotify Audiobooks

The voices gave this book more life.

This book was a nice to hear than read. I enjoyed the story of Toya and Colly. I just wasn't as pulled in as I wanted to be. The author did give a wonder image with the descriptions of locations and the characters reactions, especially to hearing things they don't like. unfortunately it felt like a show with random happenings that weren't fully interesting. I could have missed something, but I just wanted more. The voice performances gave this book more life as best they can.

Loved it

It was refreshing to read about the sincere concern and connections that both Colly and Key had for their family and community. I also enjoyed the indepth descriptions and subtle humor.