When I was 17 years old, I was forced to relinquish my newborn baby and told to “just go home and pretend it never happened.” Not likely. Twenty-four years later, I found my daughter and our reunion was broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Show. This is my coming-of-age memoir of what happened those 24 years since losing her, and the power of soul music that brought me through.
Reunited and it feels so good. Watch our story.
“In ‘Since I Lost My Baby’ Selimah has written a story of soul music legacy.”
In 1972, seven years after the people of Watts made their voices heard in the 1965 uprising, more than 100,000 came together at the L.A. Coliseum for Wattstax, a day of soul music, positivity, and empowerment. Fifty years later, I still marvel at the “Peace Be Still” connection I have with two of the women featured in the Wattstax documentary: Singers Patti Henley and Wanda Vaughn. READ STORY
Vic and I had a blast talking about soul music, getting arrested, and whole lot more. WATCH OUR INTERVIEW * SEE ALL INTERVIEWS & VIDEOS
The rhythm and sounds of places where we’ve lived can evoke memories that are nourishing for the rest of our lives. One of those places for me was a hilltop cabin in Los Angeles’s Mount Washington.
A tribute to my father, Maury Nemoy, a beloved teacher who pioneered the revival of calligraphy in Southern California in the 1950s and designed movie titles and hundreds of record album covers.
Los Angeles 1971 - Wrong place, wrong time. Wound up in a jail elevator with two guards and three infamous inmates convicted of murder who all looked like me.
“Incredible as it seems, my life is based on a true story.”