My Mantelpiece

Publisher: Why Not Books

Carolyn Goodman's life was punctuated by tragedy, including a brother's premature death, childhood molestation, a father's suicide, and a son's infamous murder. But hers is foremost a tale of survival, of turning personal anguish into social conscience. When her twenty-year-old son, Andy, was one of three civil rights volunteers to disappear in Mississippi in the summer of 1964, the story galvanized the nation. A half century after the Mississippi murders, this is the first time that a victims family member has expounded about the experience and the myriad emotions from guilt to resolve that it spawned. More than simply a memoir, My Mantelpiece is the story of a century's seminal progressive movements seen through the lens of a remarkable woman's singular journey. **Along with a foreword by National Book Award-winner Maya Angelou, MY MANTELPIECE includes back-cover testimonials from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman John Lewis, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and performer-activist Harry Belafonte.

Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. The foreword to My Mantelpiece is her last known work to be published before she dies on May 28, 2014. 

Before she passed away in 2007, Dr. Carolyn Goodman collaborated with Brad Herzog to recount a life of courage and conviction, love and loss, tragedy and triumph. A half century after the "Mississippi Burning" murders, this is the first time that a victim’s family member has expounded about the experience and the emotions—from guilt to resolve. More than simply a memoir, My Mantelpiece is the story of a century’s seminal progressive movements seen through the lens of a remarkable woman’s singular journey. Half the proceeds from the sale of My Mantelpiece go directly to THE ANDREW GOODMAN FOUNDATION.