The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White

The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White
Shirlee Taylor Haizlip
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994
Rare Book Collection
Vanderbilt University Special Collections

Shirlee T. Haizlip is an American non-fiction writer and educator. In her memoir The Sweeter Juice, she recounts her family’s history across six generations, exploring her multiracial heritage and issues of identity and colorism. Haizlip deals with the topic of racial passing as she writes about her mother’s family. While her mother did not pass as white, her aunt did, and the two sisters lost touch until Haizlip reconnected the two during her research for this book.