This event will also be streamed live on Zoom. More information will be available the week of the event.

Virginia-based writer Taylor Harris’s 2022 debut memoir, This Boy We Made, received critical acclaim. The book is an emotional examination of Harris’s relentless quest to discover why her young son was experiencing a frustrating assortment of health challenges. The book explores the bond between mother and child, the real-world frustrations Black mothers can experience when questioning and navigating the health and education systems, and how her beliefs and faith guided her through the journey.

Scientific American called the book “gripping … with tender, evocative prose” on the “intersection of two ‘ burdens’ – Black and undiagnosed – in a world that is comfortable with neither.” The book is a finalist for the 2023 Southern Book Prize, was named a best book of the year by The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Mark Your Calendar

Event Info

• Admission is free.
• Doors open at 6:00 PM.
• Seating is first-come, first-served.
• Free parking is available:
  • In the Des Moines Public Library parking garage, located on Grand Ave.
  • On the surface lot on the corner of 10th St. and Grand Ave., across from the library.
• At the end of the program, there will be a question and answer period. A book signing will follow.
• Books will be available to purchase before and after the program courtesy of Beaverdale Books.

Taylor’s Book

• This Boy We Made

Taylor on the Web

• The Washington Post review of This Boy We Made
• Shondaland interview with Taylor Harris
• Excerpt from This Boy We Made
• Southern Review of Books review of This Boy We Made

This event is hosted by the Des Moines Public Library as part of its annual AViD (Authors Visiting in Des Moines) Author Series.