The author describes this as an “Ode to Black Hollywood” and she is right but it is so much more. It is a love story to women who have struggled and persevered, the the families who have loved and honored their some times flawed matriarchs, and to Los Angeles whole difficult history. The Blackwoods are Hollywood royalty and when the matriarch passes and new information comes out they are all forced to deal with the fallout and the narrative the public creates. I think, especially today, we forget celebrities are people who deserve kindness, compassion and understanding when they behave like “real” people. This books examines how, especially for black women in Hollywood, those standards are higher and the fall much more damaging because of the institutional racism in the world. This books pays tribute to the women who came before and over the way for the phenomenal actresses we see on our screens today, and serves as a reminder of how much further we need to go. I devoured this book in a day-it was phenomenal and educational and brought a tear to my eye more than once!