AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award Winner
Jenifer Lewis keeps it real in this provocative and touching memoir by a mid-western girl with a dream whose journey from poverty to Hollywood will move, shock, and inspire listeners.
Told in the audacious voice her fans adore, Jenifer describes a road to fame made treacherous by dysfunction and undiagnosed mental illness, including a sex addiction. Yet, supported by loving friends and strengthened by ""inner soldiers,"" Jenifer never stopped entertaining and creating.
We watch as Jenifer develops icon status stemming from a series of legendary screen roles as the sassy, yet loveable, mama or auntie. And we watch as her emotional disturbances, culminating in a breakdown while filming The Temptations movie, launch her on a continuing search for answers, love, and healing.
Written with no-holds-barred honesty, this gripping memoir is filled with insights gained through a unique life that offers a universal message: ""Love yourself so that love will not be a stranger when it comes.""
From her first taste of applause at five years old to landing on Broadway within eleven days of graduation and ultimately achieving success in movies, television and global concert halls, Jenifer reveals her outrageous life story with lots of humor, a few regrets and most importantly, unbridled joy. Candid, warm and wonderfully inspiring, The Mother of Black Hollywood intimately reveals the heart of a woman who lives life to the fullest.
Download and start listening now!
"This woman is truly amazing. She is definitely a inspiration to many. She is a strong, powerful and courageous black woman who is deeply admired. She has overcome struggles that we can only imagine. And those struggles made her into the woman that she is today. A phenomenal woman!"
— Alfreda James (5 out of 5 stars)
“Jenifer Lewis is a natural comedienne in the spirit of Lucille Ball. Inventive, smart, and all her bones are ‘funny bones.’”
— Taraji P. Henson“Frank, funny, and uplifting, capturing the singer’s authentic voice, her humor, and her profound and bold capacity for resilience.”
— Publishers Weekly“Lewis’ years of journaling and knack for recall make for a rowdy, funny, and emotional exploration of her ascendance as a Hollywood matriarch.”
— Booklist“[A] national treasure.”
— TV Guide online, praise for the authorBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Jenifer Lewis has made more than three hundred television and film appearances and currently stars on the hit show Black-ish. Her unique voice is adored by Disney fans worldwide as “Flo” in Cars 1, 2, and 3, as “Mama Odie” in the Princess and the Frog, and as “Professor Granville” in Big Hero 6. She delivered legendary performances in Think like a Man, Madea’s Family Reunion, What’s Love Got to Do with It, and The Preacher’s Wife. Lewis has performed in four Broadway shows, including Hairspray, and has headlined in more than two hundred concerts and one-woman shows around the world.