The girl in the middle : growing up between black and white, rich and poor

In this poignant and timely memoir--written with the searing power of Beautiful Struggle and Born a Crime -- Degrassi Junior High star Anais Granofsky contemplates the lingering impact of a childhood spent in two opposite and warring worlds. Though recognized around the world for her role as Lucy Hernandez on the hit show Degrassi, Anais Granofsky's true childhood story is largely unknown. Growing up, Anais was caught between two vastly different worlds: her father, Stanley, came from a wealthy, prominent, white Jewish family in Toronto. Her mother, Jean, was one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family in Ohio directly descended from freed Randolph slaves. When Anais's parents met at Antioch College in the early 1970s and soon had their first child, they didn't anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys, or that Stanley would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, change his name to Fakeer, and leave his family for an ashram in India. Young Anais and her mother teetered on the abyss of poverty, sharing a mattress in a single room in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived in a mansion that was 20 minutes away. As Anais grew up, she spent weekends with her wealthy Granofsky grandparents. On Saturdays and Sundays she would wear expensive clothes and eat lunch by the pool. In the weeks between, she and her mother lived day by day penniless, rarely knowing where their next meal would come from. From her earliest youth, Anais realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to keep her two lives separate, learning to code switch between her Jewish identity on the weekend and her Black one during the week. Her life was compartmentalized, until at age 12, Anais was cast in the internationally successful television show Degrassi Junior High. The Girl in the Middle is a tale of two vastly different families and the granddaughter they shared and clashed over. Compassionate and vivid, Anais's story is a powerful lens revealing two divided families and the systematic, generational oppression that separated them. As Anais shares her experiences growing up in opposing worlds, she offers a heart-wrenching exploration of generational trauma, love, shame, grief, and prejudice--and essential insight for healing and acceptance. "In this poignant and timely memoir--written with the searing power of Beautiful Struggle and Born a Crime--Degrassi Junior High star Anais Granofsky contemplates the lingering impact of a childhood spent in two opposite and warring worlds. Though recognized around the world for her role as Lucy Hernandez on the hit show Degrassi, Anais Granofsky's true childhood story is largely unknown. Growing up, Anais was caught between two vastly different worlds: her father, Stanley, came from a wealthy, prominent, white Jewish family in Toronto. Her mother, Jean, was one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family in Ohio directly descended from freed Randolph slaves. When Anais's parents met at Antioch College in the early 1970s and soon had their first child, they didn't anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys, or that Stanley would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, change his name to Fakeer, and leave his family for an ashram in India. Young Anais and her mother teetered on the abyss of poverty, sharing a mattress in a single room in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived in a mansion that was 20 minutes away. As Anais grew up, she spent weekends with her wealthy Granofsky grandparents. On Saturdays and Sundays she would wear expensive clothes and eat lunch by the pool. In the weeks between, she and her mother lived day by day penniless, rarely knowing where their next meal would come from. From her earliest youth, Anais realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to keep her two lives separate, learning to code switch between her Jewish identity on the weekend and her Black one during the week. Her life was compartmentalized, until at age 12, Anais was cast in the internationally successful television show Degrassi Junior High. The Girl in the Middle is a tale of two vastly different families and the granddaughter they shared and clashed over. Compassionate and vivid, Anais's story is a powerful lens revealing two divided families and the systematic, generational oppression that separated them. As Anais shares her experiences growing up in opposing worlds, she offers a heart-wrenching exploration of generational trauma, love, shame, grief, and prejudice--and essential insight for healing and acceptance." -- Description from publisher's website "A moving and vivid memoir of a young girl switching between worlds, wanting only to be loved. When Anais Granofsky's parents met at Antioch College in Ohio in the early 1970s, they were each foreign and fascinating to the other - he, Stanley, the son of fantastically wealthy Jewish family from Toronto and she, Jean, one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family who are the direct descendants of the freed Randolph slaves. When they became pregnant at 19 and 22, they didn't anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys. Neither did they anticipate that Stanley, soon to rename himself Fakeer, would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (subject of the Netflix doc Wild, Wild Country) and leave his family for the ashram in India. The Girl in the Middle is the story of the child that was born into these two, very different worlds and who spent her life navigating between them. Alone, Anais and her mother teetered on the poverty line, sharing a mattress in a single room in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived a twenty-minute car ride away on the mansion-lined Bridle Path. As Anais grew up, she was invited to spend weekends with her wealthy grandmother, putting on special clothes when she arrived and being served lunch by the pool, while often she and her mother did not know where their next meal would come from. Anais soon realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to learn to live two lives. Anais's memoir offers a powerful lens into how these two families, one white and one Black, faced systematic oppression spanning multiple generations and came out at opposite economic classes--and how they clashed when they shared a granddaughter. With compassionate and vivid storytelling, Granofsky shares her experiences of living with each foot in opposing worlds and explores generational shame, grief, and prejudice, and ultimately love and forgiveness. Based on the viral Toronto Life article."-- Provided by publisher A moving and vivid memoir of a young girl — long before her starring role in the Degrassi series — who was always switching between worlds, wanting only to be loved When Anais Granofsky's parents meet in the early 1970s, they are foreign and fascinating to each other. Stanley is the son of a very wealthy Toronto Jewish family; Jean is one of fifteen children from a poor Black Methodist family, direct descendants of the freed Randolph slaves. When Jean becomes pregnant at nineteen, Stanley doesn't anticipate being cut off by his parents. Nor does the couple anticipate that Stanley, soon to rename himself Fakeer, will find his calling in the spiritual teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh on an ashram in India. The Girl in the Middle is the story of a child who spends her life navigating between two very different worlds. Alone, Anais and her mother teetered on the poverty line, sharing a mattress in a single room in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived a twenty-minute car ride away on the mansion-lined Bridle Path. As Anais grows up, she spends weekends having lunch with her grandmother by the pool, while during the week, she and her mother often don't know where their next meal will come from, even after Fakeer's return. Anais realizes that if she wants to be loved, she has to switch identities to please each of the adult women in her family. It isn't until she gets a role in the TV series Degrassi Junior High that Anais finds a third world—her own—and begins to define an identity for herself. The Girl in the Middle offers a powerful lens to explore how two families, one white and one Black, faced systemic oppression spanning multiple generations and came out at opposite economic classes—and how they clashed when they shared a granddaughter. With compassion and vivid storytelling, Granofsky shares her experience of living in opposite worlds, and demonstrates how generational shame, grief and prejudice ultimately lead to love and forgiveness. "Granofsky was widely known for her role as Lucy Hernandez in the hit series Degrassi, yet no one knew that a few years prior to landing her dream role she was bouncing between sleeping on a mattress with her Black mother in a housing project and eating Sunday dinner at a country club with her paternal Jewish grandparents, neither of whom accepted the other. With compassion and vivid storytelling, Granofsky shares her experiences of living with each foot in opposing worlds and explores generational grief and prejudice, and, in the end, love and acceptance."--Page 4 of cover