Up Home

April 1, 2023

The daughter of Black East Texas sharecroppers, Simmons was raised in a shack without running water or electricity. Her path from that shack took her through Houston and New Orleans, to the civil rights movement and a commitment to education that led to her becoming president of Smith College and Brown University; now she's the outgoing president of Prairie View A&M, Texas's oldest historically Black college or university. Here's her remarkable story. Prepub Alert.

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July 1, 2023
A declaration of love and the constant journey homeward from a brilliant mind. The first Black president of an Ivy League university, Simmons (b. 1945) chronicles her life and abundant accomplishments. Born to sharecroppers in Grapeland, Texas, the youngest of 12 children, she graduated from Dillard University and went on to earn a doctorate in romance literature from Harvard. Throughout her graceful, poised memoir, the author emphasizes the importance of education and family, especially her mother, Fannie, who sacrificed so much for her children. Simmons provides an extensive, engrossing family history of both the land they worked and the people she met along her voyage away from rural Texas to the highest rungs of academia. No matter where her journey takes her, the author always circles back to Fannie, who died during her high school years. It's clear Simmons felt unmoored without her guidance, and this wound acts as the pivotal centerpiece for the book. The author's decision to end the narrative at the precipice of her success may be jarring to some readers, but we can imagine Simmons enthusiastically addressing hundreds of graduating students at Smith College and Brown University, both of which she headed as president. (After a few years of retirement, she is now the president of Prairie View A&M, a historically Black college in Texas.) Simmons explains how "up home" became a phrase for traveling to Grapeland, while "down home" means returning to one's roots or the general spirit of home. "Today," she writes near the end of this inspiring story. "I own the land that my mother inherited from her mother....I return to marvel at how my interest in far different worlds was kindled as I wandered barefoot through the fields and meadows....I hold on to this land because 'up home' is a journey I will always make and 'down home' is a feeling I will always relish." As both a student and teacher, Simmons excels in her work.

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July 10, 2023
Simmons, who became the first Black president of an Ivy League institution in 2001 when she took that position at Brown University, chronicles the first 22 years of her life, in this poignant and inspiring memoir. Born to sharecroppers in 1945 Daly, Tex., Simmons was the youngest of 12 children. As soon as she was able to work, she joined her father, mother, and siblings in the cotton fields; though she felt “nestled in the bounty of family’s care,” Simmons’s active imagination fostered her desire to escape “to distant, forbidden regions.” Following her mother’s death when she was a teenager, Simmons began to plot a path out of Texas, excelling in high school and earning a scholarship to Dillard University in New Orleans. There, she thrived, winning a Fulbright scholarship and admission to Harvard’s PhD program in romance languages. Though she ends the narrative at her college graduation, which may disappoint readers seeking insights into her career, Simmons skillfully maps the contours of her young mind and sets the stage for future volumes that explore her time in academia. The author’s humility (“I do not regard the circumstances of my childhood as more difficult or more glorious than another’s”) and tenderness make this a fiercely memorable debut.Agent: Wendy Strothman, Strothman Agency.

August 1, 2023
Simmons recounts her inspiring life story, detailing her journey from a humble Texas town to earning a graduate degree from Harvard and achieving great success as an esteemed educator and president of such prestigious institutions as Smith College, Brown University, and Prairie View A&M, the oldest HBCU College in Texas. She faced difficulties, but with the support of her determined mother, encouraging father, and caring educators, she overcame them. Her future once seemed unattainable, but she persevered and accomplished what she thought was impossible. Simmons discusses how being born in a place where the law views you as inferior can significantly impact your life. Hearing repeatedly that you don't deserve essential human and civil rights can dramatically influence how you see yourself and prevent you from pursuing your goals and being true to who you are. Her book aims to help others understand that they don't have to let their circumstances, limited resources, or other people's expectations define them. Simmons' powerful memoir of steadfastness and determination is an excellent read for anyone seeking motivation and encouragement to pursue their dreams despite challenges.

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