An Oprah’s Book Club selection, An American Marriage by New York Times best-selling author Tayari Jones was described by USA Today as “Brilliant and heartbreaking . . . Unforgettable.” Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into their life together, Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself unmoored, taking comfort in a childhood friend and best man at their wedding. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. An American Marriage is a stirring love story that delves deep into the hearts and souls of three people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future.
Tayari Jones is the author of four novels. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including The Believer and The New York Times, and has garnered the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award in Fine Arts from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, among others. Jones is a Professor of Creative Writing at Emory University.
“It’s among Tayari’s many gifts that she can touch us soul to soul with her words.”
—Oprah Winfrey