He Included Me: The Autobiography of Sarah Rice

by Sarah Rice, Louise Westling (Editor)

A rare first-person account of life in the twentieth-century South, He Included Me weaves together the story of a black family―eight children reared in rural Alabama, their mother a schoolteacher, their father a minister―and the emerging self-portrait of a woman determined, like her parents, to look ahead.

Sarah Rice recalls her mother's hymn of thanks―"He Included Me"―when God showed her a way to feed her family, and hears again her mother's quiet words, "It's no disgrace to work. It's an honor to make an honest dollar," spoken when her children were embarrassed that she took in white people's laundry. Rice speaks, finally, of the determination, faith, and pride that carried her through life.

In a document that spans more than three-quarters of the twentieth century, He Included Me presents the voice of a single woman whose life was rich in complexity, deep in suffering and joy; yet it also speaks for the many black women who have worked and struggled in the rural South and always looked ahead.

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1989

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is to be honored for the work of Louise Westling who interviewed Sarah Rice and transcribed the recordings into print--but also for the amazing memory of Sarah Rice and her story of resilience and honesty. Also credit to the University of Georgia Press for making it available.

I bought the book from Better World Books because it must not have been available at our library.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just loved this. Sarah Rice's outsized personality comes through clear and bright. When I perfect time travel, one of the first things I'll do is hunt her down and make friends.