Isaac's Song — Daniel Black

“Isaac's Song is the lullaby we all need and the healing balm for generations to come.” -- JOYCE WHITE, author of Ecology, Spirituality, and Cosmology in Edwidge Danticat

The beloved author of Don't Cry for Me and Perfect Peace returns with a poignant, emotionally exuberant novel about a young queer Black man finding his voice in 1980s Chicago

Isaac is at a crossroads in his young life. Growing up in Missouri, the son of a caustic, hard-driving father, he was conditioned to suppress his artistic pursuits and physical desires. But now, in late '80s Chicago, Isaac has finally carved out a life of his own and built up the courage to seek out a community. Yet just as he begins to embrace who he is, two social catalysts -- the AIDS crisis and Rodney King's attack -- collectively extinguish his hard-earned joy.

At a therapist's encouragement, Isaac begins to write down his story. As he taps into his creative energy, he commences a journey back to his family, his ancestral home in Arkansas and the inherited trauma of the past. But a surprise discovery will either unlock the truths he's seeking or threaten to derail the life he's fought so hard to claim.

Poignant, sweeping, and luminously told, Isaac's Song is a return to the beloved characters of Don't Cry for Me and a high-water mark in the career of an award-winning author.