Raising Hope

Emma Kincaid thought she understood the world—until she sat down in her mother-in-law’s kitchen and heard the truth.

“He will be the cutest thing they have ever seen. And then one day—overnight—he will be the most intimidating thing they have ever seen.”

So begins a seventeen-year journey of raising a Black son in a world that fears him. From the traffic stops and the school suspensions to the sleepover that ended with a phone call asking her son to leave, Emma learns what it means to love someone the world wants to destroy.

And she learns about the magic. The daily affirmations whispered in the dark. The promise to fill him up so full that no one can ever empty him.

Told through the intimate voice of a mother watching her son become a man, Raising Hope spans heartbreak and triumph, terror and joy. It is a story about the bridge between innocence and accountability, between fear and hope—and the fierce, unwavering love that holds it all together.

The work is not done. The work never ends. But the hope? It’s already here.

“What does it mean to love someone the world wants to destroy?”