FEARLESS AND FREE A Memoir

Performing this fascinating memoir, published originally in French in 1929, Belgian actor Jade Wheeler captures the charm and depth of the American singer Josephine Baker, who lived in the U.S. and France. Wheeler performs with the spunk you'd expect from Baker, who enthralled audiences with her seductive personality and talent. In France, she enjoyed an unfiltered, irreverent way of living that was not possible for Black entertainers in the segregated U.S. Baker had a humanitarian streak, too, spying for the French Resistance in WWII, adopting multicultural children to promote integration, and later fighting for civil rights in America. Bookended by Quinten Bruno's reverent delivery of the introduction and afterword, Wheeler's nuanced performance embraces all the pathos, complexity, and joy in this exceptional memoir. T.W. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2025]