Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America

The story every parent in America needs to read

The path to creating a family is almost never easy or straightforward. As a single African American woman, Nefertiti Austin knew her journey would be more challenging than most. Eager to finally join the motherhood ranks, Nefertiti felt discouraged by the roadblocks that seemed nearly insurmountable as she fought to adopt her son from the foster care system. Along the way, Nefertiti realized that American society saw motherhood through a primarily white lens, and that there would be no easy understanding or acceptance of the kind of family she hoped to build.

Motherhood So White is the story of Nefertiti’s fight to create the family she always knew she was meant to have and the story of motherhood that all American families need now. In this unflinching account of her parenting journey, Nefertiti examines the history of adoption in the African American community, faces off against stereotypes of single, Black motherhood, and confronts the reality of raising children of color in racially charged, modern-day America.

Honest, vulnerable, and uplifting, Motherhood So White reveals what Nefertiti knew all along?that the only requirement for a successful family is one raised with love.