Smart Girl: A First-Gen Origin Story

Smart Girl: A First-Gen Origin Story is an award-winning, accessible memoir about what it really means to be "the smart one" in a working-class Black family coming of age in the late-80s and 90s-squarely in the heart of Gen X. Raised to believe she was destined for college, Dr. La'Tonya Rease Miles traces a winding road through nine public schools, a PWI, an HBCU, food insecurity, racism, graduate school at UCLA, and the quiet weight of upward mobility. With cultural touchstones ranging from Prince to college basketball to 90s hip hop, she blends sharp analysis with emotional honesty, showing how fandom, family, and resilience become survival tools.

*2025 IngramSpark Top Indie Pick

*2025 Catalyst Awards winner - Best Memoir