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On September 22, 1991, The New York Times published the article titled "Two 'Maiden Ladies' With Century-Old Stories to Tell." In the article, sisters Sarah "Sadie" L. Delany and A. Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany were introduced to the world. The sisters, a pair of civil rights activists who were born to a former slave, recounted their over 100 years of life and the many fascinating stories they had.
A publisher from New York was taken by the article and worked with Amy Hearth (the journalist behind the piece) and the sisters to turn it into a full-length book. This book became Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years.
Published in 1993, Having Our Say was a wild success, spending more than 105 weeks on TheNew York Times bestseller list. According to Hearth, all of the editions of the book have sold a combined 5 million copies. Written when Bessie was 102 and Sadie was 104, the book made the sisters Guinness World Record holders for the "Oldest Authors."
Having Our Sayis a nonfiction, historically accurate retelling of the sisters' lives over the course of their more than a century of living. It follows their upbringing in North Carolina, how Jim Crow laws forced them to move north to Harlem, as well as their college years and time as civil rights activists. Both sisters earned advanced degrees and eventually settled in Mount Vernon, N.Y., where they continued living together. Neither sister ever married.
Following the publication and success of Having Our Say, the Delaney sisters were inundated with fan mail, with people asking them for advice, more stories, and words of wisdom. This led to them working again with Hearth to publish a second book, The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom. When Bessie passed away in 1995 at the age of 104, Sadie worked with Hearth once more to publish On My Own At 107: Reflections on Life Without Bessie.
Sadie passed away in 1999 at the age of 109.
All three of the books detailing the Delaney sisters' incredible lives are available wherever books are sold.
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