Mother and Daughter Writing Team Appear on Three Amazon Bestseller Lists with “I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know”

Published on April 21, 2015

Co-authors Dorothy Hampton Marcus and Kaypri have reached the status of bestselling authors with the release of their seminal work, I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know: A Southern White Woman’s Story about Race. The book details the life of Kaypri’s mother Dorothy, who grew up in the segregated South. By detailing her mother’s evolution to becoming a civil rights activist, Kaypri shares a timely message and finds her book sitting near the top of several bestseller lists on Amazon.

Bestselling author Kaypri is getting much praise for her inspirational book, which details her mother’s transformation from white daughter of the segregated South to a powerful, behind-the-scenes civil rights activist. The book, I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know: A Southern White Woman’s Story about Race, has recently climbed the bestseller charts on Amazon. Since its publication date, the book has appeared on several lists on Amazon, including reaching #4 in the Kindle Store for urban nonfiction sociology, #11 on the teen and young adult biography list, and #21 on the urban sociology list in the politics & social sciences section for all books.

The book has touched a nerve with readers who, just six years ago, experienced a high as the United States elected its first black President—only to be confronted with the lows of the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown cases. As the gulf of understanding between different groups of Americans seems wider than ever, Kaypri steps into that chasm with the story of her mother, Dorothy Hampton Marcus.

Dorothy, as the book details, was born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during the Jim Crow era and the Great Depression. As a young woman in the 1950s and the youngest of six, Dorothy grew up feeling detached from the world around her. In her search for purpose, she fell into an unexpected calling as a champion of civil rights. As a white woman, she made the significant, and almost unheard of, decision to continually step outside of her comfort zone and examine the role race played—not only in the lives of African Americans, but in her life as well. Through her work with various civil rights organizations throughout the United States, she came to understand the privilege that had allowed her and other white Americans to ignore race. She dedicated the rest of her life to helping others understand the roles race and racism have played in their lives.

When she retired, Dorothy decided to tell her story by writing a book, but eventually dementia slowed her progress—and it was left to her daughter Kaypri to finish this important book. The story of Dorothy Hampton Marcus was rereleased just a few months after the nation was forced to face racism yet again in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. With those situations fresh in many minds, Dorothy’s book was available to help people understand the ongoing issues of race in a very personal way. The result is bestselling author status for Kaypri. When asked about the significance of this status, Kaypri was quick to say, “I’m just happy to share my mother’s story. She does not stand alone; there are many unknown people who made a difference. I am simply honored to carry on her legacy.”

I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know: A Southern White Woman’s Story about Race is 285 pages in length and is currently available on Amazon.com. To learn more about Dorothy Hampton Marcus, visit www.dorothystory.com.

 

MEDIA CONTACT
Company Name: Dorothy's Story
Contact Person: Kathryn "Kaypri" Marcus
Email: actswrite@gmail.com
Phone: 323-632-0708
Country: United States
Website: http://www.dorothystory.com/