Readers' rating:
Published May 2006
320 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
Secret Daughter is a deftly drawn and moving portrait of a childhood spent in two very different worlds: one white, one black. In 1957, when June Cross was four years old, she was sent by her white mother to live with a black family in Atlantic City. Within her adopted family, June struggled with her identity as the black radicalism of the times collided head on with her family's more traditional ideals. Summer vacations were spent with her mother, now in Hollywood. For many years, Norma told friends and reporters that June was adopted. Secret Daughter traces this thorny story with poignancy and skill.
"Unfortunately, the bits and pieces fail to cohere, and her narrative often falls flat in what is otherwise an intriguing story." - PW.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
June Cross is assistant professor of journalism at Columbia University. She has been a television producer for Frontline and the CBS Evening News and was a reporter, producer, and correspondent for PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. Her debut, Secret Daughter, grew out of a documentary made by Cross which won an Emmy Award.
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