Old Fourth Ward

About this book

Author of AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE Tayari Jones's OLD FOURTH WARD tells the story of Jaybird Alexander, who, when facing a threat from a dangerous boyfriend, reaches out to her absent father for help. He drives overnight to rescue her and brings her home to live with him. After a year, her mother relocates to Atlanta to be near her daughter, even though she has lost custody. Soon, Jaybird has two mothers (and two families)—a biological one living in a dilapidated house in the Old Fourth Ward and a stepmother in the affluent neighborhood of Cascade Heights. Years later, when Jaybird is happily married and living in Brooklyn, her husband collapses of a heart attack. And she gets two phone calls, both mothers urge her to “come home”.