Turn Where: A Geography of Home

by Chet'la Sebree

A probing essay collection that chronicles one woman’s complicated quest to find home in a fractured America, from the award-winning author of Field Study and contributor to Four Hundred Souls, edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain

Where do I belong in a country that has never loved me? What does it mean to be an American?

Lauded poet and essayist Chet’la Sebree interrogates these questions as she traverses an America that has always had a fraught relationship with its Black citizens. Her journey takes her from the shores of the Atlantic to the prairies of the Midwest, to the forests of the Pacific Northwest, abroad, and then back again. Through these shifting landscapes, Sebree seamlessly weaves memoir with history and cultural criticism in a collection of essays bound by themes of movement, home, inheritance, and belonging.

Growing up in a family that would pile into the car for lengthy excursions, Sebree has always loved to travel; it's in her marrow. Once she left her parents' home in Delaware, she rarely kept an address for more than two years and was more comfortable with a suitcase and an itinerary than the idea of a mortgage and stillness of settling down. Her life as a writer, scholar, poet, and professor fed her hunger for exploration domestically and internationally while staving off the pang that she never quite felt at home anywhere. That latter fact became increasingly unsettling as she desired to put down roots—both for herself, and for the child she began to consider bringing into the world as a single mother.

Building on the work of scholars like Saidiya Hartman and Imani Perry, Sebree navigates her relationship to a place that was not made for her to survive, let alone thrive, as she dreams of new futures. In exploring this fracture, Sebree carves out space of her own through clear-eyed observations and fearless revelations.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Memoir

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turn Where is an essay collection as Chet'la explores what home means to her in the current American climate and how the way her family has historically found home, including her grandmother who told her kids to "buy by the water."
Sebree explores the complexities of having roots in a nation that has a fraught history with its Black citizens. Through the series of essays spanning her lifetime and experiences, she looks at concepts of home both in and out of the US.
"I live in a body that is often unsure of which shore it should moor."
The entire book was focused and concise, always coming home to the theme of home and family- which includes the chosen family you create yourself through your life. As Sebree explores whether motherhood is the right path for her, she builds on the concepts of found family and community.
The writing style and formatting was a bit unconventional but I really enjoyed it and found it easy to fall into.

Turn (W)here is set to be published May 5, 2026 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

[cass krug · Rating 4 out of 5]

nothing i love more than a short but impactful collection of creative nonfiction! i loved how focused and concise this book was on the themes of home, ancestry, and chosen family. even the way that chet’la formats these pieces, invoking family trees and passports, is in service of the themes she explores. those forms were unique and made the book fly by. her grappling with whether or not she wants to become a mother and how that decision intersects with race and sexuality was moving and thought provoking. i’ve had sebree’s poetry collection, field study, on my shelf for a while but i don’t consistently read poetry, so i haven’t gotten to it yet - was super excited to be able to read her in a format that is more familiar to me!

thank you to the dial press and netgalley! turn where publishes on may 5th!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

(ARC - out 05/05/26 via The Dial Press) Chet’la Sebree’s poetry collection, Field Study, is one of my favorite collections of all time. She uses a unique form, that of an academic field study, to speak to her own lived experiences. The writing is personal and vivid and surprisingly tender. This, her memoir, really continues on with the thoughtful grappling of her life as a black woman living in America. The memoir is specifically about her love of traveling and how that love and desire for exploration counteracts the traditional narrative that many women’s lives follow - school, work, marriage, kids. I write this frequently, but you can always tell when a poet writes another genre. The writing is just so gorgeous on a sentence by sentence level. Sebree continues to play with form here, too, using photos and transcripts and short chapters to build her narrative. There’s a section where each chapter is devoted to a place that Sebree inhabited for a time and includes a brief scene of her life in that place. Sebree writes about the racism, both overt and quiet, that she has experienced in her nomadic life, she speaks of her desire to become a mother on her own terms after years of a childfree existence, and within her own personal writing is an interesting examination of how the united states continues to punish it’s citizens of color in destabilizing, cruel ways. I knew I was going to love this, but it was still a welcome treat.

[Jamie Cha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased and fair review. I was excited to read this book. I like non-fiction. I like books that make you think.

The book was fairly easy to read. Most of the chapters are small. Each chapter was different lengths. Some chapters were smaller than others.

The book makes you think. The majority of the book questions what is home. Honestly I really never thought about this. The author asks the question but wants the reader to think about it.

The book goes back and forth in time. Sometimes it really works. Sometimes it was a little bit more difficult for me. The chapters are more focused on a time, place, or question.

The best part of the book, for me, was getting to know the author. She is vulnerable and real. She reminds me of someone I would like to get to know better. I felt reading the book that I got to know her

I am thankful to the author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I feel the book made me think about family, race, and this country. An important book to be read.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So if home is not physically identifiable—a state, an address, a zip code—then maybe it’s an essence?”

Chet’la Sebree’s latest non-fiction work beautifully charts a course that takes the reader through many iterations of home (body, place, feeling, self, etc.). A poet, writer, friend, daughter and potential parent shares how her life has been shaped by the many places and people she’s known as “home” and what it means to bring a child into a world where home is so important yet fraught for Black people.

A mix of prose, poetry, quotes from notable writers and thinkers this work calls the reader to consider how they define home and what that means to how they have come to know themselves and others. How are we shaped by the people and places we’ve loved and lived? Can we help a new human chart a course we don’t know yet we’ve navigated successfully? What if home is never found? All questions you are asked to sit with in Turn (W)here.

Excellent slow paced read! Release date set for May 2026 from PRH. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

[Vans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir is a deeply moving collection of stories of family, belonging, and discovery of self as the author explores what it means to be Home. Chet'la Sebree has a gift for words, making every part from history lesson to current experiences as a Black woman in today's America a joy to read. Especially enjoyable to me were the explorations of family dynamics and how they change, for good and for bad, as the author grows.

This is not the type of book I normally pick up (non-fiction in general!) and I'm so glad I did. I've never been great with writing serious reviews, and I'm not sure how to get the point across about how satisfying each part of this book was to read. But I liked it. A lot.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is difficult to write a review of someone's life experiences and their thoughts about those experiences. To try to put my thoughts on someone's life seems, well egotistical. I enjoyed reading about Chet'la travels and struggles. I understand her need to find her home and to be seen. I think that regardless of race, religion, gender, or beliefs, we all just want to be seen and understood. To have a place we feel safe and that is ours.

I really enjoyed reading about Chet'la and would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of the ebook. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This was a deep and heartfelt analysis in essay form of what it means to be a Black American in a society rapidly becoming more constricting. The author traverses all sections of this county and discusses important themes such as home and family, what we inherit, and belonging. A truly riveting set of work about the author's perceptions on how to survive, and hopefully grow, in a country that does not want her to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/The Dial Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir in the form of essays is remarkably literary given that Chet'la Sebree is a poet. What sets it apart from others is her itinerant nature, that searching for a place to call home runs deep in her DNA, and she has many friends and family members who help her along the way. Even her university experiences unsettle her to the degree that she gives up a generous sabbatical in order to find stasis. As this consists of essays, it does not follow a linear chronological line, and she heads certain pieces with dates in a rhythm that makes sense to her.

[RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turn (W)here is a compelling collection of personal history, rumination, and research into what home is to Sebree as a Black American.

The format of this book was unique with the way Sebree skillfully wove personal experience with academic texts. I'm a sucker for an untradionally-formatted memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book.

[Deirdre Megan Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was invited by the publisher to review this work. A collection of unique poetry told in a way i have never experienced before. It is beautiful and the photographs truly add a layer of humanity.

[Chrissy Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming May 2026 -- a wonderfully and uniquely written memoir capturing what it means to be a Black American woman designing a life best suited for her, involving domestic and international travel, subsisting as an academic and a writer, and choosing to become a solo mother on her own terms. A compelling read from a contemporary voice worth listening to.

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Thanks to ARC and Random House|Dial Press for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.