"I wouldn't let my Mom read it either, but I'd recommend it to anyone else.  Hadjii has made a literary debut as fresh and funny as his first film.  One of the original voices of his generation."  ─Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment, BET

"We were reading it aloud during a car trip and were laughing so hard we had to pull off the road for safety. Honest."  ─Roger Ebert

Meet Hadjii. He's got a loving family, a taste for trouble, and a wicked sense of humor.  His mom is always trying to get him to go to church when he'd rather be out raising hell with his friends.  He can't figure out why the Boogie Man in his closet doesn't have his back when his mischief catches up with him and his dad is ready to mete out punishment.  He's an expert at slyly deconstructing everything from the quirky characters found in every neighborhood (the crazy crossing guard, the creepy piano teacher, the angry mailman) to the hidden meaning in fast food commercials on "urban" radio stations (The people who made them think you're stupid!  Especially if you don't look like them)!

DON’T LET MY MAMA READ THIS: A Southern Fried Memoir by Hadjii has all of the elements of a life well lived--from his childhood playing on the street, to his "first time" when he realizes the media hasn't done us any favors when it comes to portraying love and sex accurately, to the awkwardness of his first job where his boss tries way too hard to prove he's not a racist.  Hadjii is so entertaining, it's easy to forget he's also incredibly wise and that he talks about race, the battle of the sexes, and the pitfalls of getting older with remarkable candor and clarity.

Hadjii’s story is a welcome change, a memoir of a happy life!  Hadjii isn't a drug addict.  He's never been forced to turn tricks at a truck stop, and his family is no crazier than yours or mine.  Hadjii's reminiscences are funny and tender and full of relatable experiences from his childhood--whether it's trying to weasel out of going to school or trying (and failing) to put one over on his mom.  This story of growing up black in the South is a caught-in-the-amber look at a close knit family, and a young man who's just like you, only funnier.  A sweet, charming book that reads like a real life version of “Everybody Hates Chris,” DON’T LET MY MAMA READ THIS is full of hilarious riffs on growing up African American in the South with sharp, loving portrayals of his friends and family that are reminiscent of the humor of Bernie Mac and Tyler Perry.  Think Eddie Murphy meets “The Wonder Years.”

Don’t Let My Mama Read This

A Southern Fried Memoir

By Hadjii

Published by Harlem Moon

The Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group

April 22, 2008/Trade Paperback Original

$12.95; 220 pages; ISBN: 978-0-7679-2647-8

Available at all major retailers -- wherever books are sold.

Buy It Now!