I'm fascinated by the things that are universal, that leave a stamp on our identities,” Charmaine Wilkerson tells PEOPLE ...

Wilkerson deftly employs a broad chorus of perspectives throughout, with chapters told from the points of view of six generations in Ebby’s family, both enslaved and free; and others in the ...

It’s a thread Wilkerson weaved into Black Cake, about two adult siblings who uncover their mother’s past in the Caribbean when she leaves them a voice recording, as well as a family cake ...