Think You’ll Be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude

A former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, Avant debuts with a stirring memoir about recovering from her mother’s 2021 murder. As the daughter of music mogul Clarence and philanthropist Jacqueline, Avant learned from her parents how to live a life of service to others, and to honor her Black ancestry (“I am here on the shoulders of so many before me”). Those lessons took on new meaning after Jacqueline was murdered during a home invasion in 2021; her final text to Avant, the day before the murder, lends the book its title. Despite her profound grief, Avant found solace in the words of people who reached out to share stories of Jacqueline’s impact on them, including Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, and Tyler Perry, as well as grocery store and gas station employees who worked near Jacqueline’s home. “People were people,” Avant writes, “and Mom made sure they knew they mattered.” Spurred by these posthumous tributes, Avant sifts through memories of her mother that helped inform her own path from heartbreak to gratitude, and recounts them with an earnestness that never turns mawkish. This remarkable account of moving through grief will resonate with readers who’ve been touched by tragedy. Agent: Jan Miller and Alexandria Kominsky, Dupree Miller & Assoc. (Oct.)