My First White Friend

"In mid-life Afro-American journalist Raybon made a conscious decision to stop hating white people. Her journal/analysis provides discourse on hatred and forgiveness, the rise of her hatred, and her efforts to conquer her fears and forgive the past. An unusual account of conscious change."—Kirkus Reviews.Prologue

Part One: Race
1 A History with Demons
2 The Problem Is Me?
3 Down By the Cross
4 All Shook Up
5 A Letter to My First White Friend

Part Two: Forgiveness
6 Seeking
7 Finding
8 Knowing

Part Three: Love (Four Stories and an Ending)

9 Real Life
10 Regarding Mother
11 School Daze
12 The Affirmation
13 Setting to Right

Epilogue
Acknowledgments

Patricia Raybon is an award-winning journalist, author, and essayist. She worked as a journalist for 12 years before joining the faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder to teach print journalism for 15 years. In 2006 she turned to writing full-time. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, and USA Weekend, among others. She has also won a number of awards, including the Christopher Award and the Books for a Better Life Award for her memoir on racial forgiveness, My First White Friend. She now lives in Colorado with her husband.