Phill Branch in Conversation w/Kim Hill - The Double Dutch Fuss: A Memoir (Montclair, NJ)
Schedule
Wed Jun 03 2026 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm
UTC-04:00Location
44 Fairfield St, Montclair, NJ 07042-4137, United States | Montclair, NJ
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The Double Dutch Fuss Launch Week Reading & Signing!Watchung Booksellers (Tix at: https://www.watchungbooksellers.com/events/5125720260603).
Join author Phill Branch in conversation with Kim Hill (@alwayskimhill IG) about family, identity and authenticity.
"In this raw and lyrical memoir, an Emmy Award-winning director chronicles his struggle to break free from—and live outside of—the prescribed paradigms of Blackness and masculinity that shaped him.
Long before every moment of our lives was tracked by technology, Phill Branch was under surveillance. His father was a football-playing, W**d-smoking, Army vet—the guy men wanted to be around, and women loved. Phill was different. His father treated him as if he were defective and continually searched for proof to support this belief. Phill paid greatly for his failures at boyhood, especially when he was caught playing jump rope with girls. This taught him there were standards to be met, codes that were not to be violated, and strict punishment for any deviation from a Black man’s assigned position in the world.
In this poignant, illuminating personal narrative, Branch reckons with the patriarchy and tradition of these social structures in Black America, their legacy, and how they molded and silenced him. Taking us from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, California, Branch writes unflinchingly about growing up as the queer black son of a complicated and often absent father with rigid ideas of masculinity.
Branch explores the cosmic pull between fathers and sons, and how healing wounds can open a pathway toward freedom and wholeness. His is an insightful and surprisingly humorous reflection on identity, masculinity, and the quiet, radical act of choosing to exist on your own terms."
Advance Praise for THE DOUBLE DUTCH FUSS:
“Branch’s moving autobiography proves the fragile process of forgiveness and the enduring ties between fathers and sons. It’s a resonant story of reconciliation and self-acceptance.”—Publishers Weekly
“I knew Phill Branch as a young man with dreams and fears, with questions about who he was and who he was becoming. To witness his journey, to see him claim his voice, his truth, and his power is nothing short of extraordinary. The Double Dutch Fuss stands as a testament to courage, growth, and the healing power of storytelling.” —Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress and author
“When wielded responsibly, humor can heal and also educate. Phill exhibits this ability with great profundity as he shows us how fathers shape us even when they don’t know how to love us well.” —Roy Wood Jr., Former Daily Show Correspondent and author of The Man of Many Fathers
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Where is it happening?
44 Fairfield St, Montclair, NJ 07042-4137, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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