The World According to Fannie Davis

My Mother's Life in the Detroit Numbers

By: Bridgett M. Davis

Narrated by: Bridgett M. Davis

A singular memoir highlighting "the outstanding humanity of black America" (James McBride) that tells the story of one unforgettable mother, her devoted daughter, and the life they lead in the Detroit numbers of the 1960s and 1970s

In 1958, the very same year that an unknown songwriter named Berry Gordy borrowed $800 to found Motown Records, a pretty young mother from Nashville, Tennessee, borrowed $100 from her brother to run a Numbers racket out of her tattered apartment on Delaware Street, in one of Detroit's worst sections. That woman was Fannie Davis, Bridgett M. Davis' mother.

Part bookie, part banker, mother, wife, granddaughter of slaves, Fannie became more than a numbers runner: she was a kind of Ulysses, guiding both her husbands, five children, and a grandson through the decimation of a once-proud city using her wit, style, guts, and even gun. She ran her numbers business for 34 years, doing what it took to survive in a legitimate business that just happened to be illegal. She created a loving, joyful home, sent her children to the best schools, bought them the best clothes, mothered them to the highest standard, and when the tragedy of urban life struck, soldiered on with her stated belief: "Dying is easy. Living takes guts."

A daughter's moving homage to an extraordinary parent, The World According to Fannie Davis is also the suspenseful, unforgettable story about the lengths to which a mother will go to "make a way out of no way" to provide a prosperous life for her family - and how those sacrifices resonate over time. This original, timely, and deeply relatable portrait of one American family is essential listening.

©2019 Bridgett M. Davis (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

New York Times Editor's Choice

Buzzfeed Best Book of the Year

Parade Best Book of 2019

Kirkus Best Memoirs of the Year

Code Switch Book Club pick

Well-Read Black Girl Book Club Pick

A Buzzfeed Book Club Pick

NBC's Best African-American Memoirs That Belong On Your Bookshelf

"The World According to Fannie Davis is a daughter's gesture of loving defiance, an act of reclamation, an absorbing portrait of her mother in full. Blending memoir and social history, [Davis] recounts her mother's extraordinary story alongside the larger context of Motor City's rise and fall."—Jennifer Szalai, New York Times

"The point of this glorious, elaborate, and cinematic detail is that it says so much about Fannie, healthy black motherhood, and the American experience...Bridgett weaves two other disparate yet fundamentally American stories together through her portrait of her mother. One is a beautifully complex rendering of black motherhood that offers up humanity without stereotype-unfortunately rare in literature about black women. There's a simple but very profound, uncomplicated love between mother and daughter in this book. Another is what Bridgett calls the blue-collar bourgeoisie, a full, vibrant space of ingenuity and enterprise that allows for a multifaceted black humanity to unfold in refreshing and colorful ways."—Kirkus, cover feature

"The author candidly and poignantly transports readers to her formative years in Detroit, where her mother, Fannie, successfully ran numbers--right from the family's dining room table--with class, determination and dignity to spare."—Bridgette Bartlett Royall, Essence Magazine

Must Listen

Great story that wraps in the history happening in that time period and location! Loved the narrators voice.

I liked it

Initially I didn't like it but as I got further in, I dealt enjoyed this book

Comforting and informative

Beautifully written and read. It was such a pleasure listening to Bridgett describe her mother’s life. I took great comfort in listening. Both women sound like someone I would want to be friends with.

Loved the description of everything, felt like I was really there!

Loved it!

The narrator's voice was soothing & her pronunciation of words made me enjoy this book even more.

I understood family secrets & could relate very well with not being able to tell others, including friends & family about what goes on at home. Fanny did what she had to do & did it with style & grace like many other black mothers did during that time. I remember the numbers & dream books & hearing that somebody hit the number, that's how they paid for that car, or furniture or outfit. Those were the days...

This book made me remember my childhood with aunts & uncles & their friends & good times & bad times.

I loved it from beginning to end.

Masterful Storytelling

I’ve listened to more Audible books than I can count but this is the only one I got through in two days. Bridget’s voice is the most soothing and emotionally honest of any I’ve heard. It was like sitting in her living room after dinner with a good glass of Sauternes listening to her tell me the transformational story about her life.

More importantly, this is a story that needed to be told and could only be told by a brilliant and accomplished writer like Bridget.

I grew up in a community of black folk playing the numbers based on dreams, street addresses, birthdays, and on and on. I never understood it and it’s importance until now.

Thank you Bridget for finally revealing this “family secret” which in some strange way feels like I just hit the number.

I give this book an unequivocal recommendation. Listen to it,or read it, and you too shall be rewarded as I have.

Loved the story.

Really could relate to the story. Felt that it was read a bit slowly. The characters were bigger than life

The world according to Fannie Davis

A must read and very enjoyable. this is a great story of a black American family

The Life and Times of Fannie Davis

With undaunting courage and permission from her family, Bridgett Davis writes a memoir about her mother, Fannie Davis who was a numbers runner in Detroit in the 60's and 70's. This secret was kept by family members, close family friends and her customers as well as others who were aware of the business. Fannie was well read and this probably explains why, although she hadn't attended college, she was knowledgeable in economics which she applied to financial matters. This knowledge saved her business and her personal financial matters more than once over the ensuing years. In addition to the economic aspects of Detroit's culture in that time period, the author brings the listener into Detroit as she describes places and localities as they existed at that time. This historical account of Fannie, the places she lived and visited, her loving kindness to family, friends and even strangers is worthwhile listening to.

Numbers

I loved this book. Learned so many things I was unaware of. The narrator was wonderful as well.

great story, horrible narration

Great story about a bold, Black woman BOSS.

Even on 2x speed (because I just couldn't take it) I found great difficulty listening to the narrator's whispery, dry voice. I utterly abhor a "whisper talker". Buy this one on kindle.