THE HOUSE AT SUGAR BEACH In Search of a Lost African Childhood

Cooper's memoir includes elements of Liberian culture and history as well as details on generations past of her "Congo" family, descended from two Liberian dynasties. Her fourteenth birthday begins with the thrill of getting a diamond for a present and ends with watching her uncle being executed during a coup. The sweetness of her early years at Sugar Beach ends as the family flees to the U.S. In her new country Cooper's experiences a difficult adjustment due to cultural ignorance of her native land and her longing for the foster sister she had to leave behind. Cooper's reading is less agile than her writing—her narration is flat. However, to her dialogue she provides accents and intonations that add verve to the production. S.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2008]