{"product_id":"blessings-and-disasters-a-story-of-alabama-hardcover","title":"Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAlexis Okeowo\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom a \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker \u003c\/i\u003estaff writer and PEN award winner, a blend of memoir, history, and reportage on one of the most complex and least understood states in America.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In Alabama, we exist at the border of blessing and disaster....\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlexis Okeowo grew up in Montgomery--the former seat of the Confederacy--as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. Here, she weaves her family's story with Alabama's, defying stereotypes about her endlessly complex, often-pigeonholed home state. She immerses us in a landscape dominated today not by cotton fields but by Amazon warehouses, encountering high-powered Christian business leaders lobbying for tribal sovereignty and small-town women coming out against conservative politics. Okeowo shows how people can love their home while still acknowledging its sins. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this perspective-shifting work that is both an intimate memoir and a journalistic triumph, Okeowo investigates her life, other Alabamians' lives, and the state's lesser-known histories to examine why Alabama has been the stage for the most extreme results of the American experiment.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlexis Okeowo\u003c\/b\u003e has reported on conflict, human rights, and culture across Africa, Mexico, Europe, and the American South for the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker \u003c\/i\u003eand other publications. Okeowo is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa\u003c\/i\u003e, which received the 2018 PEN Open Book Award. Her work has also been anthologized in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Sports Writing \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Travel Writing\u003c\/i\u003e. Okeowo was named journalist of the year by the Newswomen's Club of New York in 2020 and received the Reed Environmental Writing Award in 2022.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 272\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.5 x 5.71 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e August 05, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51978189144365,"sku":"9781250206220","price":28.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/l-nga19-gJ9781250206220.webp?v=1775800920","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/blessings-and-disasters-a-story-of-alabama-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}