Publishers Weekly
07/18/2022
ESPN correspondent Hill traces her turbulent rise to success in her poignant debut. In 2017, scandal broke after Hill tweeted that President Trump was a “white supremacist.” Though she was bombarded with threats and nearly lost her job as a SportsCenter host (after a two-week suspension without pay), Hill stood her ground. “I was keenly aware that a deeper and larger struggle was taking place in this country,” she writes. “Black people were fighting every damn day for survival, freedom, and empowerment.” To understand her place in that struggle, Hill evocatively details her childhood in 1970s Detroit, where poverty, absence, addiction, and abuse abounded in her immediate family. Escape came in the form of a diary as she grew to love writing and found her voice. As Hill became an adult, she faced a new set of challenges—from juggling relationships and jobs to managing the scandal that, she writes, “blew my life up.” Still, Hill remained confident and steadfast in her beliefs, bolstered by a lifetime of overcoming obstacles, and her account brims with intelligence and resilience. The result is a powerful portrait of ambition, faith, and fearlessness. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
One of Oprah Daily's Best Fall Nonfiction Books of 2022
"Jemele Hill's commitment to truth telling is unparalleled. Whether she is exposing white supremacy or being radically transparent about her own history, Jemele's resolve remains steadfast. She makes you want to lean in and listen, but more importantly, she encourages us all to use our voices to tell necessary, hard truths."
—Gabrielle Union, New York Times bestselling author of We're Going to Need More Wine and You Got Anything Stronger?
"Jemele Hill is an undeniable force. Her fearlessness has helped her break countless glass ceilings in her career, making her a stalwart example of possibility. She has consistently used her platform to be a voice for the voiceless, for which I have so much admiration. It’s an honor to know her and call her friend."
—Sunny Hostin, Emmy Award-winning journalist, cohost of ABC’s “The View” and New York Times bestselling author of Summer on the Bluffs
“Jemele Hill's fearless reporting and advocacy for the truth are the central elements of a good journalist. But she takes it all one step further by championing new voices, and new perspectives, by making sure no one is forgotten. She takes risks, looks forward and backward, and never stops growing and pushing ahead.”
—Soledad O'Brien, CEO, award-winning journalist and producer, and philanthropist
"Those who cherish freedom of speech, even when it makes the powerful uncomfortable, will applaud Jemele's fearless words and actions."
—Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestselling author of Long Time Coming
"With a skilled hand, Hill captures the nuances of workplace discrimination and its toll while also providing a guide for others — especially women of color — to persevere."
―The New York Times
"Hill is relentless but fair, and she is equally comfortable parsing out instances of institutional racism and admitting to her own mistakes. She balances humor, vulnerability, and passion, creating a text that is both exciting and emotionally satisfying."
—Kirkus (starred review)
"Brave, incisive, and uncompromising, Hill, a contributing writer for the Atlantic, will inspire women, especially women of color, to challenge sexism and racism in every realm"
—Booklist
“I’ve long admired Jemele's firm view of who she is and what she stands for, and I knew that when she was ready to tell her story in full, the world would need to hear it. Uphill is the inspirational, no-holds-barred account of her life and career we’ve been waiting for—a fierce meditation on resilience and speaking the truth, even when it can cost you. Riveting and bold, Uphill is pure Jemele, through and through.”
—Tamron Hall, Emmy Award-winning TV host and journalist, and author of As the Wicked Watch
“The world has come to know Jemele for her unflinching honesty and transparency, this memoir is no different. Her foray into the challenges and triumphs that shaped her into the public figure we know and love today will endear loyal fans and open doors to new ones—and it will surely inspire all of its readers.”
—Tarana Burke, New York Times bestselling author of You Are Your Best Thing and Unbound, and founder of the "me too." Movement
Library Journal
05/01/2022
Born to a teenage mother and heroin-addicted father, Hill found escape from intergenerational trauma in writing, moving determinedly from diarist to newspaper reporter to Emmy Award-winning host of ESPN's SportsCenter to staff writer for the Atlantic. Here she reflects on work, the women in her family, and the ferocious reaction to her calling Donald Trump a white supremacist. With a 250,000-copy first printing.
JANUARY 2023 - AudioFile
Jemele Hill may be infamous for comments she made on Twitter about President Trump, but she is also a respected sports journalist with a career that spans several decades. In this memoir she narrates events from her personal and professional lives. Hill describes her sometimes challenging upbringing, as well as her rocky relationship with her mother, without descending into melodrama. Hill’s journalism career, beginning when she was in high school, is impressive; she narrates the facts of her path with understandable pride but without bragging. Even difficult career choices, such as her decision to leave ESPN, are presented in a thoughtful way, though it is clear that Hill still feels deeply about the choices she made. Every story told is more powerful for being narrated by Hill. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-07-13
An accomplished Black sports journalist tells her story.
Atlantic contributing writer Hill, who rose to fame partly due to her online conflicts with Donald Trump, recounts the ups and downs of her early life as well as her successful career at ESPN and beyond. The author grew up in Detroit with a mother who battled a drug addiction and a grandmother who was “a highly functioning alcoholic.” Despite their struggles, however, both worked hard to provide for her. Hill writes about how she was determined to escape the poverty that constricted her childhood, a desire that led to an intense work ethic and a life filled with achievements. As a freshman at Michigan State, she got a job as a sportswriter with the State News, an accomplishment that was partially possible because Hill had already written for a professional publication in high school. She continued her diligent work even in the face of widespread bigotry and “racist hate mail.” During an internship at the Lima News, she took pitches and wrote a series on domestic violence to accompany coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. In 2006, she reluctantly took a job at ESPN (“I wanted to be a respected journalist, not some flashy television personality”). She stayed for 11 years, serving as co-host of the network’s flagship program, SportsCenter, and developing and co-hosting the groundbreaking show His & Hers, which Hill describes as “unapologetically Black.” Unfortunately, the author felt unsupported at ESPN, often due to her race. She left the network after Trump personally attacked her on Twitter. “Trump didn’t hurt me, but ESPN’s lack of response did,” she writes. “A government official had come after one of its employees and it did nothing.” Hill is relentless but fair, and she is equally comfortable parsing out instances of institutional racism and admitting to her own mistakes. She balances humor, vulnerability, and passion, creating a text that is both exciting and emotionally satisfying.
A frank, fearless, and entertaining memoir.
