The House at Sugar Beach
By Helene Cooper

In this memoir, Cooper, who was born in Liberia, takes you through the history of her country, the first independent African nation. She tells of her childhood naïveté about her privileged social position, and of her relationship with Eunice, a poor country girl her parents took in. When political tensions erupted in Liberia, Cooper's family immigrated to America, leaving Eunice behind. Cooper grew up to become a journalist, but she carried the burden of her past silently, because Americans, she felt, wouldn't understand. She eventually returned to Liberia to find Eunice. There's no cutesiness: It's a vivid personal account—honest, raw, uncensored, and often very funny.