cover image The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom

The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom

Sarah Louise Delany. Kodansha America, $15 (133pp) ISBN 978-1-56836-042-3

An inspirational and delightful guidebook on how to live long and well, written by feisty centenarian sisters who do yoga every morning, this no-nonsense manual could add years to your life. Authors of the bestselling Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (also written with Hearth), Sarah, now 105 years old, and Bessie, 103, were among the first African American professional women in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Raleigh, N.C., to an ex-slave turned Episcopal bishop and a free-born mother of mixed racial parentage, the Delany sisters rejected marriage proposals to live together and pursue careers-Sarah a high-school teacher, Bessie a dentist. Their homespun, plucky advice-exercise regularly, don't smoke or drink, shun credit cards, spend more time with family-reflects their perception that people today are too rushed, self-centered, overworked, lack consideration and ``rot their brains'' watching TV. Interspersed with family photographs and documents, recipes and numbered lists of pointers for right living. (Nov.)