NEW YORK — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is working on a memoir. Jackson, the first Black woman appointed to the court, is calling the book "Lovely One."
"Mine has been an unlikely journey," Jackson said in a statement released by Random House.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson smiles March 31 on Capitol Hill in Washington, when she was still a nominee for the court. Jackson, the first Black woman appointed to the court, is working on a memoir.
"But the path was paved by courageous women and men in whose footsteps I placed my own, road warriors like my own parents, and also luminaries in the law, whose brilliance and fortitude lit my way. This memoir marries the public record of my life with what is less known. It will be a transparent accounting of what it takes to rise through the ranks of the legal profession, especially as a woman of color with an unusual name and as a mother and a wife striving to reconcile the demands of a high-profile career with the private needs of my loved ones."
No release date has been set for "Lovely One." Jackson, 52, was born Ketanji Onyika Brown. The book's title comes from the English translation of Ketanji Onyika, the name suggested by an aunt who at the time was a Peace Corps worker in West Africa.
People are also reading…
Jackson joined the court last year after President Joe Biden named her to succeed the retiring Stephen Breyer. She had previously been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
"My hope is that the fullness of my journey as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, litigator, and friend will stand as a testament for young women, people of color, and dreamers everywhere," Jackson added, "especially those who nourish outsized ambitions and believe in the possibility of achieving them."
"Lovely One" is Jackson's first book, but not the first by a current member of the Supreme Court. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor are among those who have released books in recent years. Justice Amy Coney Barrett has a deal with the Penguin Random House imprint Sentinel.
Financial terms for "Lovely One" were not disclosed, although interest in her makes it likely her advance is at least comparable to the 7-figure deals negotiated in the past for memoirs by Sotomayor and Justice Clarence Thomas.
In announcing Jackson's book, Random House called it a story she tells with "refreshing honesty, lively wit, and warmth."
"Justice Jackson invites readers into her life and world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her," the announcement reads in part, "from growing up in Miami with educator parents who broke barriers during the 1960s to honing her voice as an oratory champion to performing improv and participating in pivotal student movements at Harvard to balancing the joys and demands of marriage and motherhood while advancing in Big Law — and, finally, to making history upon joining the nation's highest court."
The 9 current justices of the US Supreme Court
Chief Justice John Roberts
Chief Justice John Roberts
Nominated to serve as chief justice by President George W. Bush
Took seat Sept. 29, 2005
Born Jan. 27, 1955, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Justice Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President George H.W. Bush
Took seat Oct. 23, 1991
Born June 23, 1948, near Savannah, Georgia
Justice Samuel Alito
Associate Justice Samuel Alito
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President George W. Bush
Took seat Jan. 31, 2006
Born April 1, 1950, in Trenton, New Jersey
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Barack Obama
Took seat Aug. 8, 2009
Born June 25, 1954, in Bronx, New York
Justice Elena Kagan
Associate Justice Elena Kagan
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Barack Obama
Took seat Aug. 7, 2010
Born April 28, 1960, in New York City
Justice Neil Gorsuch
Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Donald Trump
Took seat April 10, 2017
Born Aug. 29, 1967, in Denver, Colorado
Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Donald Trump
Took seat Oct. 6, 2018
Born Feb. 12, 1965, in Washington D.C.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Donald Trump
Took seat Oct. 27, 2020
Born January 28, 1972
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Nominated to serve as associate justice by President Joe Biden
Took seat June 30, 2022
Born September 14, 1970

