Better Than I Know Myself - Paperback

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by Virginia Deberry (Author), Donna Grant (Author)

Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, the #1 Essence bestselling authors of Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made now deliver Better Than I Know Myself, a novel in which you'll meet their most unforgettable characters yet.

Carmen, Jewel, and Regina could not be more different. When they meet as freshmen at Columbia University, they're pretty confident that a friendship among them isn't in the cards.

Jewel is Hollywood royalty: as the teenage star of the TV show "Daddy's Girl," her face is instantly recognizable all across America. Now, though, she wants two things--to get a serious education, and to leave her controlling stage mother behind. Regina is the definitive upper-middle-class African-American girl. Her picture-perfect parents are what she calls "black Ward and June Cleavers" and their goals for her are like a stranglehold. No one can see, though, how far Regina's rebellious side will take her (or how treacherous it will become). Carmen is just trying to get by. A child of the projects whose father is dead and whose mother has vanished, Carmen has been raised by her abusive brother. Columbia is the way for her to get a better life--if she can hold down two jobs and keep her GPA up.

When the three of them meet, their lives are at a crossroad. And as the years progress, from the 1980s to the present day, they are challenged by drug addiction, fame, secrets from the past, sickness, betrayal, and the darkest things women can face. One of them won't survive. But what will be the lasting legacy of their friendship? Better Than I Know Myself is a novel of heartache, triumph, tears, and the unshakeable bonds among women.

Back Jacket

#1 Essence Bestselling Authors Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant's novels are:

"Powerful." --Kirkus Reviews
"Refreshingly honest." --Publishers Weekly
"Engaging." --Essence
"Vividly realistic." --Midwest Book Review
"Hard to put down." --American Woman

More Praise for Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant:

"I laughed, I cried, I identified!!!"
- Sybil Wilkes, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, on Better Than I Know Myself

"They're back! Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, authors of one of my favorite books, Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made, have returned with Better Than I know Myself. It has a prologue that grabs you, a story that holds you, and characters that you will care about."
- Clara Villarosa, Bookseller, The Hue-man Bookstore & Cafe, Harlem on Better Than I Know Myself

"Strong, colorful characters distinguish DeBerry and Grant's warm and moving African-American family drama...moves gracefully between the 1950s and the present day, and an unusually varied cast of minor characters add spice to the full-bodied tale."
- Publishers Weekly on Far From the Tree

"Keenly drawn characters...a seamless work...a winning book about real, flawed people."
- QBRL The Black Book Review on Far From the Tree

"With sassy dialogue and a suspenseful narrative, this novel whips through its prologue and 23 well-written chapters."
- Dallas Morning News on Far From the Tree

"Captivating and compelling...brave, realistic, and touching."
- Booklist on Far From the Tree

Author Biography

Best friends for 40 years, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant first met while working as models, and what should have been a rivalry ended up as a decades-long friendship. Their 20 year writing partnership has resulted in several novels: Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made, Far from the Tree, Better Than I Know Myself, Gotta Keep on Tryin', What Doesn't Kill You, Uptown, and Exposures (as Marie Joyce). Tryin'to Sleep in the Bed You Made won the Merit Award for fiction from the black caucus of the American Library Association, the Book of the Year award from Blackboard, and the New Author of the Year Award from the Go On Girl Book Club. Virginia lives in New Jersey. Donna resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Number of Pages: 368

Dimensions: 0.74 x 8.28 x 5.4 IN

Publication Date: January 23, 2024