One True Wish

Based on the life of Diahann Carroll, a mother and daughter grapple with ambition and scandal while delving into their past trauma to find where they truly belong.

In 1932, Mabel Faulk arrives in New York expecting a fresh start only to find a city grappling with financial collapse. When she marries and gives birth to a daughter, all Mabel’s aspirations come roaring back to life.

Twenty years later, the daughter she raised, Carol Diann, is beautiful, talented, and hungry to be noticed by Hollywood. At eighteen, the stars align, and a star is born: Diahann Carroll. But all is not what it seems. Diahann basks in the triumph she’s worked hard for, all the while carrying a secret that could upend her private life and acting career.

Moving among a coterie of lauded new friends—most notably Sidney Portier, Ruby Dee, Marlon Brando, and Truman Capote—this historical novel offers a glimpse into Diahann Carroll’s fierce, unflappable journey navigating the unpredictable terrain of love, fame, scandal, and family, all the while breaking barriers every fearless step of the way.

Trisha R. Thomas has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine’s Books That Made a Difference. Her work has been featured and reviewed in Cosmopolitan, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Essence, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. She is also a reviewer for the Los Angeles Review of Books and the author of the novels What Passes as Love and Nappily Ever After, which was adapted into an award-winning film for Netflix. Trisha is a recipient of the Literary Lion Award from the King County Library System Foundation, was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, and was voted Best New Writer by the Black Writers Collective. For more information, visit www.trisharthomas.com.