The Seven Daughters of Dupree
By Nikesha Elise Williams
Read by Bahni Turpin
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Table of Contents
About The Book
From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.
It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.
From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.
It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.
From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.
The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.
Appearances
OCT 11
5:00PM
In Person
Learn MoreThe Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library benef
Saint Paul RiverCentre
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Reading Group Guide
1. In this novel, we meet seven generations in a family of women bound by a shared history of passing down family secrets. How does this legacy of secrets impact each generation?
2. Ancestors are important and respected in the Dupree lineage. Why do you think this is?
3. Who is your favorite daughter and what are some of the traits you appreciate in her?
4. Who is the most misunderstood daughter and why do you think this is?
5. Is there a legend in your family, like the birthing curse the Dupree family struggles with, that you still don’t have an answer for?
6. Hairstyling practices play a huge role in the lives of all the Dupree women. What is your relationship to your hair and styling practices? Has this changed throughout your life?
7. Do you feel any kinship with a place where you have never lived? Why do you think this is?
8. The book explores how trauma is dealt with and passed down from generation to generation. Do you believe each daughter in the matrilineal line of Dupree women tried to do better in dealing with this trauma once she herself became a mother?
9. At the end of the novel, Tati is writing a book in verse to preserve her family history. Is there someone in your own family who knows the family ancestry, lineage, and history, or is keeper of family stories and secrets?
10. How did the violent legacy of slavery hurt the Dupree women? How did knowing most of their origin story in the United States bolster the Dupree family, from Emma to Sa'rah?
11. In the epilogue, Nadia is cooking from Gladys’s recipes, which Evangeline first made for Sa’rah on the Dupree plantation and later used as an ancestral offering. Are there any special dishes that have been passed down in your family from generation to generation that are similar to the Dupree’s foodways?
12. When Tati and Nadia move to Land’s End, Nadia rents her house in Chicago even though her daughter and partner sell their homes. Why do you think Nadia chose to hold on to her house?
2. Ancestors are important and respected in the Dupree lineage. Why do you think this is?
3. Who is your favorite daughter and what are some of the traits you appreciate in her?
4. Who is the most misunderstood daughter and why do you think this is?
5. Is there a legend in your family, like the birthing curse the Dupree family struggles with, that you still don’t have an answer for?
6. Hairstyling practices play a huge role in the lives of all the Dupree women. What is your relationship to your hair and styling practices? Has this changed throughout your life?
7. Do you feel any kinship with a place where you have never lived? Why do you think this is?
8. The book explores how trauma is dealt with and passed down from generation to generation. Do you believe each daughter in the matrilineal line of Dupree women tried to do better in dealing with this trauma once she herself became a mother?
9. At the end of the novel, Tati is writing a book in verse to preserve her family history. Is there someone in your own family who knows the family ancestry, lineage, and history, or is keeper of family stories and secrets?
10. How did the violent legacy of slavery hurt the Dupree women? How did knowing most of their origin story in the United States bolster the Dupree family, from Emma to Sa'rah?
11. In the epilogue, Nadia is cooking from Gladys’s recipes, which Evangeline first made for Sa’rah on the Dupree plantation and later used as an ancestral offering. Are there any special dishes that have been passed down in your family from generation to generation that are similar to the Dupree’s foodways?
12. When Tati and Nadia move to Land’s End, Nadia rents her house in Chicago even though her daughter and partner sell their homes. Why do you think Nadia chose to hold on to her house?
About The Author
Blue Franswa
Nikesha Elise Williams
Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy Award–winning producer, an award-winning author, and producer and host of the Black and Published podcast. A narrative strategist by day and journalist always, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Essence, and Vox. Nikesha is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and a DeGroot Foundation Writer of Note grantee. A Chicago native, she lives in Florida with her family.
About The Reader
Bahni Turpin
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (January 27, 2026)
- Runtime: 11 hours and 7 minutes
- ISBN13: 9781668117651
Resources and Downloads
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