Not just for black people, this brilliant and provocative book tells stories we all need to hear. Everyone wonders about the marriage decline, African Americans because high rates of being single reflect societal damage and personal tragedy, as well as idealism and resilience. White people also will want this book’s wisdom, the better to get some insight, but also because white trends follow black ones. For the children’s sake, we all need this book.

—Susan T. Fiske, Eugene Higgins Professor, Princeton University