Finding Dignity

J. Marie Darden delivers the sequel to Enemy Fields with this powerful coming-of-age novel about identity and finding peace by finding yourself.

Dignity Jackson is having an identity crisis. She is a child of interracial parents, and the ambiguity of her ancestry is confusing her more than ever. Since her mother has abandoned Dignity at age three, and since her father has died before she is born, Dignity has been raised by her strict Aunt Lette and Uncle Sam. And though she is raised with love, she still feels out of place. No one ever explained to her how race affects her identity and her path to self-discovery.

At age eighteen, Dignity accepts a scholarship to Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Yet she still doesn’t seem to fit in. Dignity’s neurotic quirks make it difficult for her to bond with Sal, her Italian boyfriend, and her friends, Stacy and Khalil. A pilgrimage through the South helps Dignity uncover many truths about her heritage. It is there, on her road to self-discovery and acceptance, that Dignity realizes the past may be the key to her future.

Author J. Marie Darden, herself an alumnus of Morgan State University, perfectly captures the fundamental essence of attending a historically black university. With dynamic characters and a passionate protagonist, Finding Dignity will lead readers not only on Dignity’s journey, but on a journey of their own.

J. Marie Darden was born in Cincinnati, OH, but was raised in Maryland. She spent many summers in Kentucky. She holds a B.A in English from Morgan State University and a M.A in English Education from The Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of Enemy Fields and Finding Dignity. She is a Professor of English at the Community College of Baltimore County, in Maryland. She lives with her husband and son in Columbia, MD.