Goldie Taylor at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes celebrated journalist, cable news political analyst, and human rights activist GOLDIE TAYLOR for a discussion of her new memoir The Love You Save. She will be joined in conversation with MIKKI KENDALL—acclaimed author of Hood Feminism. GOLDIE TAYLOR will sign copies of The Love You Save pre-ordered from Havard Book Store before February 8th. CLICK HERE to pre-order. 

A Return to In-Person Events

Harvard Book Store is excited to be back to in-person programming. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone in attendance, the following Covid-19 safety protocols will be in place at all of our Harvard Book Store events until further notice:

• Face coverings are required of all staff and attendees when inside the store. Masks must snugly cover nose and mouth.

About The Love You Save

At age eleven, Goldie Taylor is out riding her bike when she is raped by a young man from the neighborhood. Unable to cope, her mother sends her to live with her aunt in East St. Louis.

Aunt Gerald takes in anyone who asks, but the conditions are harsh. Goldie sleeps on the living room floor, amid cousins who abuse her. But in her trauma and pain, Goldie discovers a secret. She can find kinship among writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. She can find hope in a nurturing teacher who helps her find her voice. And books, she realizes, can save her life.

Goldie Taylor's debut memoir shines a light on the strictures of race, class and gender in a post–Jim Crow America while offering a nuanced, empathetic portrait of a family in a pitched battle for its very soul.

Profoundly moving, exquisitely rendered and ultimately uplifting, The Love You Save is a story about hidden strength, perseverance against unimaginable odds, the beauty and pain of girlhood, and the power of the written word.

Praise for The Love You Save

"Bursting with hope, wonder and wisdom, The Love You Save is a deeply inspiring, must-read memoir about the transformative power of books to heal and unite us." —Gabrielle Union, New York Times bestselling author of You Got Anything Stronger?

"In The Love You Save Goldie Taylor weaves a vibrant retelling of her youth and by proxy a side of America that is rarely seen on the page. Instead of pathologizing hardship, Taylor celebrates survival and gives the readers a front row seat to a fascinating and poignant life. Deeply honest, it is an important cultural document wrapped in a memoir. Words are powerful, the pen can be our best weapon and here Taylor shows us that she survived and thrived because of them." —Mikki Kendall, New York Times bestselling author of Hood Feminism

"The Love You Save is a powerful coming-of-age story about a little Black girl's determination to love and survive. It made me smile and grimace with deep recognition. This is a memoir about the pain and joy of being 'the first,' with all of the sacrifices that come with opportunity. Taylor renders a lovely memoir about a slice of Black life with compassion and truth-telling."—Tressie McMillan Cottom, National Book Award-nominated author of Thick: And Other Essays