Dear Self is a penetrating journal that documents a year in the life of a poor welfare mother in a public housing project in the Northeast United States. That year, 1973, was one of transition for America. The roll-back of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” was gaining momentum, the Vietnam War was winding down, the emptiness of the heady days of the revolutionary 1960s was being revealed, and racism and poverty in America was still alive and well. Richelene Mitchell takes us into the heart of all these developments and more from the perspective of the forgotten underclass. In addition to those issues of the day, she documents the timeless challenges of dealing with disease, divorce, and mothering. A must read for anyone interested in knowing about the intricacies of the lives of the black urban poor in America. Available from http://www.atlasbooks.com/nidpublishing