cover image A Princess Found: An American Family, an African Chiefdom, and the Daughter Who Connected Them All

A Princess Found: An American Family, an African Chiefdom, and the Daughter Who Connected Them All

Tracy Trivas, Sarah Culberson. St. Martin's Press, $25.99 (351pp) ISBN 978-0-312-37879-0

As a biracial child adopted into a nurturing white middle-class family in West Virginia, Sarah Culberson experienced warmth, stability and personal fulfillment while growing up. Like most adopted children, Culberson had questions about her biological roots, and as a biracial child dealt with the additional emotional burden of negotiating the world of racial identity. After being questioned by a teacher as to why she wore blue contact lenses, a stunned and embarrassed Culberson begins the journey to find-and embrace-her roots. Her story quickly becomes extraordinary, as she discovers her father is not just alive and living in Africa, but is part of African royalty, making her an African princess. This entertaining, informative, inspiring memoir is told through two narratives taken up in alternating chapters: one details Culberson's story of growing up, going off to college, and ultimately establishing a life for herself in the arts; the other recounts her father's incredible story of falling in love with Culberson's American mother, his struggle to keep his family alive during Sierra Leon's brutal civil war, and the remarkable reunion of father and daughter.