In 1993, Sarah and Elizabeth Delany became overnight celebrities with the publication of their memoir,
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, written in collaboration with
New York Times reporter Amy Hill Hearth. It became a national bestseller, was adapted into a highly successful stage play and TV movie, and led to two more books by the Delanys.
“Sweet Sadie” and “Queen Bess,” as they called one other, have since passed on. But picking up the torch are two black men, averaging 99 years
of age, who have both published their memoirs this year, with the assistance of younger writers.
George Dawson, born in 1898, is the principal author of Life Is So Good (Random House, 260 pages, hardcover, $23), co-written with Richard Glaubman. The book was done as an oral history, and deals primarily with life in the South.