That Other Paris

Born on the unlit side of town, he found light anyway.

You know what it means to grow up in a place that was never built for you. A place where the hospital down the street saves lives, just not yours. Where the streets have the same numbers but the houses, the schools, and the futures they promise could not be more different. You know the weight of being told, without a single word spoken, exactly where you belong.

In That Other Paris: (The Unlit One), Lindsey Harmon Jr. recounts his childhood on the segregated north end of West Seventh Street in Paris, Texas, during the 1940s and 1950s. With warmth, sharp wit, and unflinching honesty, he brings to life a world of cotton fields and home remedies, of midwives and house call doctors, of mothers armed with switches and fierce love. This is a memoir about navigating blatant discrimination in a town well known for it, and about the intact families, devoted teachers, and resilient community that taught a young Black boy civility, self respect, and the desire to excel despite every obstacle hatred could construct.

Inside these pages, you will discover:

. A vivid, deeply personal portrait of Black life in the Jim Crow South, told with humor and grace

. Hard won lessons on the value of sweat labor, dignity, and the refusal to accept someone else's limits

. A testament to the communities that raised children to thrive in a world determined to hold them back