Force of Beauty Audiobook By Mikki Taylor, Deborah Riley Draper cover art

Force of Beauty

A Newark Family Memoir

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Force of Beauty

By: Mikki Taylor, Deborah Riley Draper
Narrated by: Mikki Taylor
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My family. My Newark.

The story of three generations of Black women, one extraordinary friendship, and a not-often recalled history of the city that made them.

In Force of Beauty, Mikki Taylor, editor-at-large of Essence magazine and longtime activist, introduces us to her gifted grandmother, Bessie, her glamorous mother, Modina, and how Modina’s friendship with the legendary Sarah Vaughan shaped Mikki’s childhood. Taylor’s mini-memoir is a tribute to Newark in the '50s and '60s, of cool jazz clubs and close-knit neighborhoods, a handsome house on Avon Avenue, and one family’s tale of perseverance and ingenuity in a city they all loved.

At a time when Black women were marginalized, disrespected, overlooked, and unseen, Bessie and Modina showed Mikki how beauty and style can be a force for good.

The recording includes an introduction by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and a reading by Mayor Baraka of the poem his father, the esteemed Amiri Baraka, wrote about the Newark rebellion, which Taylor discusses living through as a young girl.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC. Black Creators Women's Voices Friendship Memoir Heartfelt Funny Scary

Audible Live: In conversation with Mikki Taylor and Julee Wilson

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About the Co-creator and Performer

Mikki Taylor is the leading authority on inner and outer beauty for women of color. A compelling empowerment speaker, Taylor emboldens women to own their lives, celebrate their beauty, and master their purpose with distinction. She has authored several books including the critically acclaimed Self-Seduction: Your Ultimate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty, Commander-in-Chic: Every Woman’s Guide to Managing Her Style Like a First Lady, and Editor in Chic: How to Style and Be Your Most Empowered Self.
As the former beauty & cover director at ESSENCE magazine, Taylor produced over 500 covers as well as its signature beauty pages to affirm and inspire the culture’s definition of beauty. Today she serves as the publication’s editor-at-large, hosting its live events such as the ESSENCE Festival’s Power Stage and Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey. Taylor has worked with some of the world’s most fascinating and influential people including Rosa Parks, Sidney Poitier, Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, and more. Among Taylor's most treasured experiences was the joy of serving as an instructor at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa at the special invitation of Oprah Winfrey, receiving the 2016 Black Women in Film Network Creative Award, speaking at the 2018 De Beers Global Women’s Summit in Botswana on consumer engagement, and receiving the National Urban League Trailblazer Award in July 2019.

About the Co-creator

Deborah Riley Draper is an award-winning filmmaker and storyteller. Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Draper brings a unique perspective to her work forged from her academic studies at Florida State University, her breakthrough ad campaigns as an executive with BBDO and Ogilvy, and her experience as a curious filmmaker who loves research. Draper is a 2016 Film Independent Lab Fellow and Variety Magazine’s 2016 Top 10 Documakers to Watch. Her documentary, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, tells the untold story of 18 African Americans who defied Hitler and Jim Crow to compete in the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games. Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is a 2017 NAACP Image Awards Nominee for Outstanding Documentary Film and one of only three nominees for the 2017 Peace and Sport Award in Monaco, presented by HRH Prince Albert. Draper was also nominated for the 2021 NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literary Work for her debut as an author, the book Olympic Pride, American Prejudice. Draper’s first partnership with Mikki Taylor, the film Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution, opened New York Fashion Week and Toronto Fashion Week in 2012.

Force of Beauty: A Newark Family Memoir trailer

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Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks to Give and Hear This Mother's Day


Moms are some of the most resourceful, hardworking, and amazing people on this earth. And as anyone who is or loves a mom knows, they need more than a day of celebration—they deserve a supportive culture all year round. Whatever motherhood means to you, we put together a list of our favorite listens that reflect the beautiful spectrum of this foundational relationship and show appreciation to all the different moms of the world.

Featured Article The Best Audiobooks to Give and Hear This Mother's Day
Inspiring Family Story • Rich Historical Context • Enthusiastic Narration • Cultural Significance • Vivid Storytelling
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Very interesting compelling memoir and an important recounting of a fascinating history but with a lot of unexplained gaps that I wondered about. Desperately needed a better editor. Too bad they didn’t hire a professional reader.

Great story. God awful reader.

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Interesting story about dynamic people but the narration makes it sound like a story acted out for 3 year old toddlers.

Narration distracts from story

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The book has been educational for me and I can continue to encourage others to learn about our history.

Black history

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This is a great glimpse into history but I can’t get past the narrator. Maybe I’ll try reading it

Great story but couldn’t get through it

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What stood out the most was the positive and uplifting attitude throughout this story, especially for black women.

Positive and uplifting

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Lays out the direction and scope of a life very different from my own, admirable and fascinating. Unfortunately the reader was pretty awful. Her i flections have nothing at all to do with the lines she is reading

Wonderful memoir

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I found the stories and the history fascinating, interesting and fun to hear about. However, the reader put an exclamation point after nearly every word and it was all I could do to continue listening.

Good story, torturous to listen to

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I loved Mikki-Taylor's story about her familial influencers and how she became the iconic Essence editor. Surrounded by beauty and strong women, Mikki learned from her grandmother and mother to be independent, true to herself, and how to measure her worth. I loved her recollections of growing up in Newark and the struggles that faced her family.

Mikki Taylor's Interesting 3-generation memoir

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The performance in this book is stellar. I could hear the emotions in her voice as the stories was being told. This story really captured my undivided attention and I enjoyed every minute of it. Great book.

Great Book & Exeptional Performance

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Don’t let the voice through you off. If you ever hear Mikki talk at appearances, she has the same tone and she animates and enunciates her words. I glad to have an light upbeat that highlight 3’generations without stereotyping, cursing, snd being explicit. She sounded excited to share her story I enjoyed it. You couldn’t feel the love she had for her mom and grandmother.

Great story and great history . Don’t let the hater judge her by hear voice

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