Join Niccara as she welcomes Paula Chase, co-founder of The Brown Bookshelf and author of the Heights series, to the pod! We talk about her novel The Balancing Act, the power of reclaiming language around grief, and how young people navigate invisibility within communities fighting over scarce resources in their own neighborhoods.

Perfect for readers who appreciate stories centered on Black youth, community resilience, grief and healing, institutional critique, and the courage it takes to be truly seen. Make sure you pick up The Balancing Act from where you get your books!

@butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.com

Follow & Find Paula Chase:

paulachasewrites.com | @paulachaseauthor

Shop With Us:

Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIB

Don't forget to rate, subscribe and review!

Keeping it real...but make it books. Peace y'all

Mentioned in this episode:

African Ancestry

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African Ancestry

The Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer

Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.

African Ancestry

African Ancestry

Hypervisible and Invisible: Paula Chase on The Heights and Who Gets to Be Human