CNN's John Blake Wins Christopher Award for “More Than I Imagined"

Atlanta, Ga.-based author John Blake has been honored with a Christopher Award for his book, “More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew,” (Convergent Books/Penguin Random House). It is one of 12 books for adults and young people as the Christopher Awards program marks its 75th year.

Forgiveness, faith, and racial reconciliation lie at the core of the book in which CNN’s Blake meets the white mother he never knew and learns that personal relationships can often move people beyond old prejudices based on stereotypes. As a black child who grew up in inner-city Baltimore, Blake never met his white mother. He was only told that she went away and that her family hated black people. Thanks to a loving aunt who took John to church, he gained a foundation of faith. He was 17 when he finally met his mother. She was in a mental institution due to schizophrenia. No one had ever told him the truth because of the stigma around mental illness.

This memoir highlights the relationship that John came to build with his mother, who had a strong devotion to St. Jude – and who found healing in the years after she and John connected. It offers a hopeful perspective on race relations in this country.

Blake is an award-winning CNN journalist. He has been honored by the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Religion Communicators Council. He has spoken at high schools, colleges, and symposiums, and in documentaries on race, religion, and politics. Blake is a native of Baltimore, Md.

Christopher Awards were also given to creators of 11 TV/Cable shows and feature films.

The Awards celebrate authors, and illustrators as well as writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflects the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications, said, “We’re often told that we can better understand a person if we walk a mile in their shoes. While that may not be physically possible, our book, film, and TV winners allow us to do that through engagingly told stories that introduce us to people and places different from our own, yet relatable in a variety of ways.”

The Christophers, a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org.