Losing Absalom Book

Sonny Goodman may have hopped the 'modern underground railroad called education' and arrived in far-flung Minneapolis, but with the impending death of his father, North Philadelphia is calling him home. As the Goodmans' separate lives collide in an outpouring of shared history, hope, grief, and deferred dreams, Sonny must find a way to untangle the web inner-city life has woven around the ones he loves.

Absalom Goodman worked all his life to build a home for his family. Now the neighborhood has changed for the worse, lifelong dreams have turned into bitter realities, and Absalom is dying of cancer. But these tragedies bring Absalom's loved ones together, and in a fateful moment that is harrowing and redeeming, they find their lives changed forever. Winner of the First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.