Please join Countway Library and the HMS Arts and Humanities Initiative for a thoughtful virtual discussion with award-winning author and Guggenheim Fellow Kaitlyn Greenidge! Her new novel, Libertie, is inspired by the life of one of the first Black female doctors in the United States.
Tuesday, May 4 | 6-7PM EST 
Register: [link expired]
Panelists include:
- Valerie Stone, MD (BWH)
- Tola Ibikunle (HMS I)
- Jocelyn Streid, MD (BWH)
- Josie Francois (HMS 5)
- Susan Pories, MD (MAH)
About the Book
The New York Times called Kaitlyn Greenidge’s second novel, Libertie, "a feat of monumental thematic imagination." Coming of age as a freeborn Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson is all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, has a vision for their future together: Libertie is to go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother’s choices and is hungry for something else—is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it—for herself and for generations to come. Inspired by the life of one of the first Black female doctors in the United States and rich with historical detail, Kaitlyn Greenidge’s new and immersive novel will resonate with readers eager to understand our present through a deep, moving, and lyrical dive into our complicated past. Named One of the Most-Anticipated Books of 2021 by: O, The Oprah Magazine, The Millions, Refinery29, Garden & Gun, Publishers Lunch, BuzzFeed, The Rumpus, BookPage, Harper's Bazaar, Ms. Magazine, and more. Visit Harvard Book Store to order your copy of Libertie!
About the Author
Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel, We Love You, Charlie Freeman, was one of the New York Times Critics’ Top 10 Books of 2016 and a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She is a contributing writer for the New York Times, and her writing has also appeared in Vogue, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.