{"product_id":"the-house-at-sugar-beach-in-search-of-a-lost-african-childhood-9780743266253","title":"The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood","description":"\u003cb\u003eJournalist Helene Cooper examines the violent past of her home country Liberia and the effects of its 1980 military coup in this deeply personal memoir and finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHelene Cooper is \"Congo,\" a descendant of two Liberian dynasties--traced back to the first ship of freemen that set sail from New York in 1820 to found Monrovia. Helene grew up at Sugar Beach, a twenty-two-room mansion by the sea. Her childhood was filled with servants, flashy cars, a villa in Spain, and a farmhouse up-country. It was also an African childhood, filled with knock foot games and hot pepper soup, heartmen and neegee. When Helene was eight, the Coopers took in a foster child--a common custom among the Liberian elite. Eunice, a Bassa girl, suddenly became known as \"Mrs. Cooper's daughter.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor years the Cooper daughters--Helene, her sister Marlene, and Eunice--blissfully enjoyed the trappings of wealth and advantage. But Liberia was like an unwatched pot of water left boiling on the stove. And on April 12, 1980, a group of soldiers staged a coup d'état, assassinating President William Tolbert and executing his cabinet. The Coopers and the entire Congo class were now the hunted, being imprisoned, shot, tortured, and raped. After a brutal daylight attack by a ragtag crew of soldiers, Helene, Marlene, and their mother fled Sugar Beach, and then Liberia, for America. They left Eunice behind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA world away, Helene tried to assimilate as an American teenager. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she found her passion in journalism, eventually becoming a reporter for the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e. She reported from every part of the globe--except Africa--as Liberia descended into war-torn, third-world hell. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 2003, a near-death experience in Iraq convinced Helene that Liberia--and Eunice--could wait no longer. At once a deeply personal memoir and an examination of a violent and stratified country, \u003ci\u003eThe House at Sugar Beach\u003c\/i\u003e tells of tragedy, forgiveness, and transcendence with unflinching honesty and a survivor's gentle humor. And at its heart, it is a story of Helene Cooper's long voyage home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCooper, Helene:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Helene Cooper is the Pulitzer Prize-winning Pentagon correspondent for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, having previously served as White House Correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, and the assistant editorial page editor. Prior to moving to the \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e, Helene spent twelve years as a reporter and foreign correspondent at \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e. She is the author of the bestselling memoir, \u003ci\u003eThe House at Sugar Beach\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMadame President\u003c\/i\u003e, a biography of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She was born in Monrovia, Liberia, and lives in the Washington, DC area.","brand":"S\u0026s\/ Marysue Rucci Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50720794575122,"sku":"9780743266253","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2c622fdf-c113-4e70-957e-e00b93602df8.jpg?v=1734676505","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-house-at-sugar-beach-in-search-of-a-lost-african-childhood-9780743266253","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}