{"product_id":"better-than-i-know-myself-9781250846648","title":"Better Than I Know Myself","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVirginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, the #1 \u003ci\u003eEssence\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling authors of \u003ci\u003eTryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made\u003c\/i\u003e now deliver \u003ci\u003eBetter Than I Know Myself\u003c\/i\u003e, a novel in which you'll meet their most unforgettable characters yet.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCarmen, Jewel, and Regina could not be more different. When they meet as freshmen at Columbia University, they're pretty confident that a friendship among them isn't in the cards. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJewel is Hollywood royalty: as the teenage star of the TV show \"Daddy's Girl,\" her face is instantly recognizable all across America. Now, though, she wants two things--to get a serious education, and to leave her controlling stage mother behind. Regina is the definitive upper-middle-class African-American girl. Her picture-perfect parents are what she calls \"black Ward and June Cleavers\" and their goals for her are like a stranglehold. No one can see, though, how far Regina's rebellious side will take her (or how treacherous it will become). Carmen is just trying to get by. A child of the projects whose father is dead and whose mother has vanished, Carmen has been raised by her abusive brother. Columbia is the way for her to get a better life--if she can hold down two jobs and keep her GPA up. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen the three of them meet, their lives are at a crossroad. And as the years progress, from the 1980s to the present day, they are challenged by drug addiction, fame, secrets from the past, sickness, betrayal, and the darkest things women can face. One of them won't survive. But what will be the lasting legacy of their friendship? \u003ci\u003eBetter Than I Know Myself\u003c\/i\u003e is a novel of heartache, triumph, tears, and the unshakeable bonds among women.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBest friends for 40 years, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant first met while working as models, and what should have been a rivalry ended up as a decades-long friendship. Their 20 year writing partnership has resulted in several novels: \u003ci\u003eTryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made, Far from the Tree, Better Than I Know Myself, Gotta Keep on Tryin', What Doesn't Kill You, Uptown, and Exposures (as Marie Joyce).\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eTryin\u003c\/i\u003e'\u003ci\u003eto Sleep in the Bed You Made\u003c\/i\u003e won the Merit Award for fiction from the black caucus of the American Library Association, the Book of the Year award from Blackboard, and the New Author of the Year Award from the Go On Girl Book Club. Virginia lives in New Jersey. Donna resides in Brooklyn, New York.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Griffin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50630159073554,"sku":"9781250846648","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_55236e99-ce24-48ee-a4d0-0567e2d4f23e.jpg?v=1732744550","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/better-than-i-know-myself-9781250846648","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}