"Take a step that will lead you toward the realization of your dream, and then take another, and another, and another." So beats the heart of Jesmyn Ward's Navigate Your Stars, in which Ward (Salvage the Bones; Sing, Unburied, Sing; Men We Reaped) delivers a powerful message of endurance and empathy in this illustrated adaptation of her 2018 commencement address at Tulane University.
Ward's own persistence has yielded an extensive catalogue of accolades--including two National Book Awards and a MacArthur fellowship. But in Navigate Your Stars, humility abounds. "Good morning, y'all," Ward begins. "I want to tell you a story." What follows is Ward's poignant account of her journey to becoming a writer, layered across her developing sense of what success can look like.
Growing up poor in Mississippi, Ward felt education was her ticket to a better life. Ultimately, her own understanding of what "education" might mean also had to evolve: "I realized that education wasn't one choice; instead, it was a lifetime's undertaking." Tracing her growing awareness of the dictates of circumstance, she contrasts her experiences in education with those of her family--especially those whose choices, and horizons, differed from her own, and persisted nonetheless.
Gina Triplett's vibrant illustrations are awash in color, a resplendent canvas for Ward's tribute to hard work, determination and family. Ward's tender truths will resonate not only with graduates of all backgrounds, but anyone yearning for a message of hope and of promise--who will take a step. Then another. --Katie Weed, freelance writer and reviewer