Preview
  • My Vanishing Country

  • A Memoir
  • By: Bakari Sellers
  • Narrated by: Bakari Sellers
  • Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,811 ratings)

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My Vanishing Country

By: Bakari Sellers
Narrated by: Bakari Sellers
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Publisher's summary

What J. D. Vance did for Appalachia with Hillbilly Elegy, CNN analyst and one of the youngest state representatives in South Carolina history Bakari Sellers does for the rural South, in this important audiobook that illuminates the lives of America’s forgotten Black working-class men and women.

Part memoir, part historical and cultural analysis, My Vanishing Country is an eye-opening journey through the South's past, present, and future.

Anchored in in Bakari Seller’s hometown of Denmark, South Carolina, Sellers illuminates the pride and pain that continues to fertilize the soil of one of the poorest states in the nation. He traces his father’s rise to become, friend of Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King, a civil rights hero, and member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) , to explore the plight of the South's dwindling rural, Black working class - many of whom can trace their ancestry back for seven generations.

In his poetic personal history, we are awakened to the crisis affecting the other “Forgotten Men and Women” whom the media seldom acknowledges. For Sellers, these are his family members, neighbors, and friends. He humanizes the struggles that shape their lives: to gain access to healthcare as rural hospitals disappear; to make ends meet as the factories they have relied on shut down and move overseas; to hold on to precious traditions as their towns erode; to forge a path forward without succumbing to despair.

My Vanishing Country is also a love letter to fatherhood - to Sellers' father, his lodestar, whose life lessons have shaped him, and to his newborn twins, who he hopes will embrace the Sellers family name and honor its legacy.

©2020 Bakari Sellers (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about My Vanishing Country

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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A must read.

An honest and unabashedly opinionated memoir. This is not a fluff piece crafted with an eye towards a future run for office, but is rather a baring of the soul. Probably one of the most transparent and authentically introspective writings you’ll read from a politico, young or old.

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41 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Informative

Sellers are a part of history! Thank you Bakari and Breakfast Club. please read/listen now

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3 people found this helpful

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Amazing

Book was well written, he didn’t know his family was so politically involved in history.

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1 person found this helpful

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Emotional, Powerful, Eye Opening

Amazing book. I have listened to Mr Seller's opinions and commentary for years. This is a honest account of struggle and determination of a man and a people to secure the freedoms they were promised. Definitely opened my eyes to the continuing struggle of African Americans and other minorities in this country.

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1 person found this helpful

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Understanding the man behind the commentary.

Great read! Book tells his story, giving you a glance into his life, trials and motivation for being in the political arena. Wise beyond his years. Hoping to see him evolve politically.

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Great

My wife and I really enjoyed the book. Quite a life for such a young man.

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Great story

It doesn’t hurt I was already a fan when I saw DLemon trading it on his post I was yes a book to read by someone I admire !

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Inspiring Man

Bakari Sellers is an intelligent, articulate snd inspiring man who tells the story of being black in America very well. Highly recommended.

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Good Listen.

Loved the book! Bakari's school days were very similar to mine. Yea, he was taking me back! Lol!

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Earnestly heartfelt!

A lovingly, passionate depiction of the South and the political landscape of America. Well done!

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