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Community Corner

Book Signing-Postcards from Cookie by Caroline Clarke

Award-winning journalist and host of Black "Enterprise" Business Report
Caroline Clarke's moving memoir of her surprise discovery of her
birth mother—Cookie Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole—and the
relationship that blossomed between them through
the heartfelt messages they exchanged on hundreds of postcards.


Caroline Clarke was born in an era when adoptions were shameful,
secret, and sealed. While she wondered about her biological parents, she
kept her curiosity in check, until a series of small health problems
raised concerns about her genetic heritage and
its consequences for her two children's lives and her own.


Though Spence-Chapin Family Service, the agency that handled her
adoption, could not reveal the name of her birth mother, it was able to
provide details that lead to a shocking truth. Caroline's birth mother
and her family were related to a friend. The woman
who gave her life was none other than Carole "Cookie" Cole, the
daughter of iconic crooner and pianist Nat King Cole.

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Drawing on details provided by the agency and her own investigative
skills, Caroline embarked on a life-changing journey of discovery that
stretched from coast to coast, forged through e-mail, phone calls, and
post cards. The constancy, volume, and intimacy
of her steady correspondence with Cookie filled the days and distance
between them. Through brief yet poignant messages squeezed onto
three-inch open-faced squares, mother and daughter revealed themselves,
sharing secrets, taking risks, and ultimately building
a bond like no other.


A heartfelt, inspiring tribute to both Caroline's adoptive parents and her biological mother,
Postcards from Cookie illuminates the enduring power of love to shape and guide our lives.

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