Mostly White

by Alison Hart

Spanning four generations of a mixed-race family, Mostly White is a powerful tale of inter-generational trauma and the healing brought by wildness, music, and the resilience of women. From Emma, who survives the abuse of an Indian residential school in 1890s Maine, to Ella, who navigates color lines in 1980s New York City, Alison Hart’s unforgettable characters fight to form their own identities and honor the call of their ancestors.

Genres: Fiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

PRAISE FOR MOSTLY WHITE
“So compelling it gave me goosebumps from the very first pages.”

—ISABEL ALLENDE
National Book Award-winning author of In the Midst of Winter and The House of Spirits

Check out video of event with Isabel Allende:
https://youtu.be/sn69ndyr7uA



BIO:
National Book award-winning and best-selling author Isabel Allende introduced Alison and her debut novel Mostly White (Torrey House Press, 2018) at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. Isabel Allende praised Mostly White as: "So compelling it gave me goosebumps from the very first lines." Other works include a poetry collection, Temp Words (Cosmo Press, 2015) and selected poems in Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry in California (Scarlet Tanager, 2016). Her new novel The In-between Sky (Mumblers Press, 2025) is available now.
Hart’s work centers on her Black and Indigenous ancestors from New England, healing intergenerational/historical trauma, mixed-race identity, and uncovering the brutal truth of American history. Hart studied theater at Tisch School of The Arts, New York University (B.F.A.), and education at Saint Mary’s College (M.A.). She is a mixed-race Passamaquoddy Native American, Irish, Black, Scottish, and English woman of color. Hart is an author, musician, music educator and mother living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal. I had to stop reading for a bit after the first ten pages . Brutal, heartbreaking, a gut punch . I had already connected with Emma, a half Native American half black young girl experiencing unspeakable abuse at a residential school for Indian children so I had to go back to see what would happen to her. I couldn’t put it down and I read this in a day. What strength, but the heartache continues spanning the years and generations for Emma and her daughter Delilah, and Delilah’s daughter Margaret, and Margaret’s daughter Ella. There are beatings and drunkenness and death and these women struggle, some carrying the burdens of their mothers and suffering. Beautifully written, unbearably sad, but for that last sentence and I finally caught my breath.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Torrey House Press through Edelweiss.

[Lisa Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tough but worthwhile read.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate the skill with which the author channels the several voices in this memoir of a multi-ethnic family living over several generations in Maine, primarily women, but the men too are included with due respect for their manner of speaking and coping. Considering the difficulty of writing about the stories of one's family with dignity, Hart walks that tight line between blunt revelation and tender compassion with even-handedness. She manages to stay out of the way of her ancestors. One of the most heart-breaking scenes I have ever read is Emma walking into the boarding school to rescue her four children summarily taken away by authorities. Hart lets us experience the trauma that several members of the family experienced in this wholesale separation--members that we haven't often heard in other accounts of this practice of sending indigenous children away to school. The ending of this memoir that doesn't hold back on the hard-hitting realities is unexpected in the way it adds a new dimension to what has been told.

[Laura Joakimson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know of any other book that addresses intergenerational trauma with this much poetic economy and clarity.

Extraordinary. I needed to pause after reading this and let it sink in.

In western culture we think of mental health in terms of the individual and brain chemistry. What does it mean to look instead at a family history of unbearable trauma? How does that get passed on? Or healed?

This book has depth and honesty. Strongly recommend.

[Tahlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went to the library in search of a light read, found this instead. Couldn’t put it down once I started. Really tough and really impactful.

[Barsha Roy Chowdhury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generation after generation, the members of a mixed raced family, goes through unexplainable trauma and brutal treatment in the American society. Set in Maine, in the early 1890’s to 1980’s, Alison Hart’s ‘Mostly White’ narrates the lives of four generations of mixed race women who went through equal hardships. Starting with Emma, a young black girl, who experiences sexual abuse at a residential school for Indian children. She was looked down upon, beaten and whipped at the school. But this brutal treatment doesn’t end with Emma. For generations, Emma’s daughter and her grand children went through unspeakable trauma, each struggling to survive amongst the Whites. Beatings, betrayals, abuses, drunkenness, deaths, these women have went through enough, so much that they were on the edge of becoming a monster themselves.

Each of the story was so intense and heartbreaking that I had to keep the book down and gather my thoughts together before proceeding further. However, this book will show you the harsh reality of racial classification that Black women and even men faced in a White privileged society.

Coming to the narration, I had a hard time with Emma’s storyline. The book is written in first person narrative and as such, Emma who could speak limited English, made it a little difficult for me to understand certain parts. I had to re-read the first three pages twice to get the storyline. For a book of just 174 pages, the pace was a bit slow. And these two factors will affect my rating for this book. Speaking about the plot, I think I haven’t read a book this good in a while. Taking into consideration the issue that have been spoken about here, it’s very difficult to make the audience feel the same emotion that you felt while writing this book. And Hart did a commendable job here. I felt every emotion, I felt the rage, the sadness, the happiness along with the characters. I could connect to them and feel their pain. The book affected me so much that it took me a long time to pour my thoughts in here. I don’t know if my review does justice to this book but, I would recommend you all to pick this up ASAP. You wouldn’t wanna miss out on this.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure if this is a four-generation memoir or a novel based on the author's family and experience, but this story of intergenerational trauma and the effects of racism on the mixed-race women of one family is a great read.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the book seems like history told through first person accounts, primary sources from 1890 to 1986. The lives of four generations of mixed-race women. Much of it is from the perspective of children who are subject to contempt, neglect and sexual abuse. Most of them are too innocent to know that their suffering is a symptom of the diseased society surrounding them. While I read, I felt sympathy and disgust due to the abusive and contemptuous aspects of American society. This is an important book to demonstrate the kinds of thoughts and actions that we must still fight against.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart, but the ending mended it together. The fact that this is fiction yet every word is true n someone’s life made it so powerful for me.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly White by Alison Hart is an exquisite, absorbing story that includes historical accounts of state-sanctioned violence and institutionalized racism that shook this native Mainer to the core. The beautifully-composed characters broke my heart, ignited my spirit and burned into my brain. A must-read for anyone engaged in thinking about identity, inheritance and transcendence.

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read on several levels. My review: https://bookinwithsunny.com/mostly-wh...

[Pan Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was heart breaking but also healing