I recently purchased Lonely At The Top and loved the story. I felt like all the same feelings that you felt (though not on necessarily that large of a scale).  I think what stood out to me was that you obviously had the confidence and courage to ask those important questions of yourself and the legend that your father was.  Your seeming self-depreciating writings about your achievements compared to his was really what was what struck out to me. Your father was successful and ambitious, but so were you.

I am almost 23 and about to graduate from college and being at the cusp of basically everything, the questions you asked and the fears you felt are very real to me and despite the fact that we came from two different backgrounds, we share that same internal dialogue where although we may be projecting something to the outside world, we are the most outrageously honest within ourselves.

Thank you for writing this. I plan to encourage so many people to read it. - P

We’ve heard many stories of black achievement in America and the sacrifices made by previous generations to make that possible. But less common is the story of that sacrificial generation’s children, some of whom were born into success and wealth. Their experience is at once a common and foreign mix of doubt, pride, shame and protectiveness associated with the involuntarily burden of their parents’ legacy. Christina Lewis Halpern is the voice of this less documented generation and Lonely At The Top offers a relatable and eye-opening window into her family, racial progress in America and just what success really is.

— Baratunde Thurston, author, “How To Be Black”

A question from a would-be reader:

Dear Ms. Halpern,

I would love, love to read your book, but I only buy books. Not digital files. Is there any chance this will be printed on even a paperback version?

Thanks,

Quantella Owens

Bound Book Lover

Dear Quantella, 

Don’t think of Lonely At The Top as a book. It is not, it is too short. If it were printed, it would be a pamphlet and look rather sad. Think of it instead as a new literary form, a Single, that is only available digitally. If printed books were all we had, Lonely At The Top, would not exist since it’s too long for a magazine and too short for a book. I do hope you’ll consider buying it and help pioneer this new literary form. 

Best, 

Christina

Amazon asked me to send them a photo of me and my father for the cover of my e-book memoir. Simple request, but it caused a moment of panic: I wasn’t sure I had one. It has been 19 years since my father passed away and a lot has happened since. Luckily, my uncle had scanned this gem last year for our wedding slideshow.  

It remains, even after all these years, somewhat bittersweet to see photos from when my father was alive. I must have been about five years old. And I do look so very, very happy. 

Doorbell rings: It’s the East Hampton village fire chief telling us there’s a voluntary evacuation. Thank you! But we’re fine, I say. He goes off to the next house. Old school! Love it.  

Meanwhile, final pre-hurricane purchase: non-electric coffee maker. Gotta think ahead.