Books like Baby of the family by Tina McElroy Ansa

Lena McElroy Ansa’s debut novel follows Lena, born in 1949 at a private black‑only hospital in Mulberry, Georgia. As the third child of Nellie and Jonah, owners of a local bar and liquor store, she is celebrated as "special" for being born with a caul, a tradition believed to grant prophetic sight. Instead, Lena discovers she can see and speak with ghosts, a gift that reveals more about the past than the future. Against the backdrop of a Southern small town, the story traces Lena’s ordinary milestones—her first friendships, school years, and the evolution of her parents’ sometimes stormy marriage—while she confronts grief over her grandmother’s death. The novel weaves supernatural elements into everyday narrative, offering an intimate portrait of African‑American life in the South. Lena’s haunting ability serves as a lens through which readers witness the interplay of memory, history, and the enduring ties of family in a tightly knit community.

First publish date: 1989