Actress Uzo Aduba, 43, known for her Emmy-winning portrayal of Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, has written a memoir, according to a report in People magazine. The Road Is Good: How a Mother’s Strength Became a Daughter’s Purpose will be published by Viking this fall.
The book is an homage to Aduba’s mother, Nonyem, who died in 2020. According to the publisher, Aduba's narrative includes anecdotes from her Nigerian mother, aunts, and uncles, as well as her own experiences growing up in the Boston suburbs, to tell a coming-of-age story that is also a “timely examination of Black immigrant identity.”
“When I initially started thinking about writing a book, I thought I would only be telling funny stories of my life and work and the quirky, wise advice my mother had handed out to me over the years,” Aduba told People. “I had no idea that mixed in with that, I would also be making a final account of her life. I didn’t know that, in real time, I would be learning how to apply the best of myself, which is the best of her, into my greatest growth.”
In addition to the numerous awards she won for Orange Is the New Black, Aduba also took home an Emmy and a Critic's Choice award for her portrayal of Shirley Chisholm in the Hulu miniseries Mrs. America. She is currently set to appear in Shonda Rhimes' upcoming Netflix mystery series, The Residence.
An advocate for human and women’s rights, Aduba serves as Heifer International’s ambassador to Africa and as an ambassador for Stand Up to Cancer.
The Road Is Good: How a Mother’s Strength Became a Daughter’s Purpose will be published on Sept. 24, 2024.
Marion Winik hosts NPR’s The Weekly Reader podcast.
