About us
**WARNING: A scammer is sending emails to authors pretending to represent this group by offering author spotlights or other favors in exchange for money. Please ignore these messages. Contact the group organizer, Alysia Allen, via direct message on Meetup if you have any questions.
We are a group of black women who love to read, want to read more, and meet like-minded women. We are here to inspire women to read, share literature, fellowship, and encourage others in the joy of reading. We meet on the first Saturday of the month. We are an eclectic group of Black women, and so are our reading selections. Find out more on our website www.mochagirlsread.com
For Authors and Publishers, please email Mocha Girl Classy at [classy@mochagirlsread.com](mailto:classy@mochagirlsread.com)
Upcoming events
8
- Network event
(ONLINE) Book Club Meeting: "These Ghosts Are Family" by Maisy Card
·OnlineOnline8 attendees from 14 groupsGreetings Mocha Girls,
I hope this message finds everyone well.
Please join us on Zoom where we will have our discussion virtually.The link will be visible once you RSVP.
Warmly,
Mocha Girl SharniseOur June 2026 monthly book selection is "These Ghosts Are Family" by Maisy Card.
Remember, if you don't finish the book, you are still welcome, so come anyway!
R.S.V.P. Etiquette:
Please make sure to RSVP to an event or book club meeting ONLY if you are going. Do not RSVP if you are thinking about going or would like to go.
Thanks in advance and I can't wait to see you all!REMEMBER:
Support a Black-owned Bookstore called RESIST BOOKSELLERS and get 15% off when you use the code MGR22.About the Book:
Stanford Solomon’s shocking, thirty-year-old secret is about to change the lives of everyone around him. Stanford has done something no one could ever imagine. He is a man who faked his own death and stole the identity of his best friend. Stanford Solomon is actually Abel Paisley.And now, nearing the end of his life, Stanford is about to meet his firstborn daughter, Irene Paisley, a home health aide who has unwittingly shown up for her first day of work to tend to the father she thought was dead.
These Ghosts Are Family revolves around the consequences of Abel’s decision and tells the story of the Paisley family from colonial Jamaica to present-day Harlem. There is Vera, whose widowhood forced her into the role of a single mother. There are two daughters and a granddaughter who have never known they are related. And there are others, like the houseboy who loved Vera, whose lives might have taken different courses if not for Abel Paisley’s actions.
This “rich and layered story” (Kirkus Reviews) explores the ways each character wrestles with their ghosts and struggles to forge independent identities outside of the family and their trauma. The result is a “beguiling…vividly drawn, and compelling” (BookPage, starred review) portrait of a family and individuals caught in the sweep of history, slavery, migration, and the more personal dramas of infidelity, lost love, and regret.
About the Author:
Maisy Card is a Jamaican American writer whose work often explores family, migration, identity, and the Caribbean diaspora. Born in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica, and raised in Queens, New York, Card brings a rich cultural perspective and emotional authenticity to her storytelling.***These Ghosts Are Family ***is her acclaimed debut novel and has been praised for its ambitious structure, unforgettable characters, and exploration of generational trauma and resilience.
Her work beautifully captures the complexities of Black identity across borders and generations while centering the emotional truths that connect families everywhere.
- Network event
(ONLINE) Book Club Meeting: "These Ghosts Are Family" by Maisy Card
·OnlineOnline8 attendees from 13 groupsGreetings Mocha Girls,
I hope this message finds everyone well.
Please join us on Google where we will have our discussion virtually.Google Meet joining info:
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/tyi-vyfn-adh
Or dial: (US) +1 434-362-0922 PIN: 448 371 185#
More phone numbers: [https://tel.meet/tyi-vyfn-adh?pin=2155830972647](More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/tyi-vyfn-adh?pin=2155830972647)Warmly,
Mocha Girl LeannaOur June 2026 monthly book selection is "These Ghosts Are Family" by Maisy Card.
Remember, if you don't finish the book, you are still welcome, so come anyway!
R.S.V.P. Etiquette:
Please make sure to RSVP to an event or book club meeting ONLY if you are going. Do not RSVP if you are thinking about going or would like to go.
Thanks in advance and I can't wait to see you all!REMEMBER:
Support a Black-owned Bookstore called RESIST BOOKSELLERS and get 15% off when you use the code MGR22.About the Book:
Stanford Solomon’s shocking, thirty-year-old secret is about to change the lives of everyone around him. Stanford has done something no one could ever imagine. He is a man who faked his own death and stole the identity of his best friend. Stanford Solomon is actually Abel Paisley.And now, nearing the end of his life, Stanford is about to meet his firstborn daughter, Irene Paisley, a home health aide who has unwittingly shown up for her first day of work to tend to the father she thought was dead.
These Ghosts Are Family revolves around the consequences of Abel’s decision and tells the story of the Paisley family from colonial Jamaica to present-day Harlem. There is Vera, whose widowhood forced her into the role of a single mother. There are two daughters and a granddaughter who have never known they are related. And there are others, like the houseboy who loved Vera, whose lives might have taken different courses if not for Abel Paisley’s actions.
This “rich and layered story” (Kirkus Reviews) explores the ways each character wrestles with their ghosts and struggles to forge independent identities outside of the family and their trauma. The result is a “beguiling…vividly drawn, and compelling” (BookPage, starred review) portrait of a family and individuals caught in the sweep of history, slavery, migration, and the more personal dramas of infidelity, lost love, and regret.
About the Author:
Maisy Card is a Jamaican American writer whose work often explores family, migration, identity, and the Caribbean diaspora. Born in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica, and raised in Queens, New York, Card brings a rich cultural perspective and emotional authenticity to her storytelling.***These Ghosts Are Family ***is her acclaimed debut novel and has been praised for its ambitious structure, unforgettable characters, and exploration of generational trauma and resilience.
Her work beautifully captures the complexities of Black identity across borders and generations while centering the emotional truths that connect families everywhere.
Past events
836
