{"product_id":"the-double-dutch-fuss-a-memoir-hardcover","title":"The Double Dutch Fuss: A Memoir (Hardcover)","description":"\u003ch1\u003e\u003cb\u003eby Phill Branch\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eDescription\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLong before every moment of our lives was tracked by technology, Phill Branch was under surveillance. His father was a football-playing, weed-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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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. From early inappropriate relationships with men twice his age, to his successful rebranding at Hampton University, to the dichotomy of Hollywood—living in a world of wealthy celebrities while struggling to survive as a writer—Branch navigates his complex emotions surrounding success, perceptions of manhood, and ultimately his father.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Double Dutch Fuss\u003c\/em\u003e recounts growing up under the heavy burden of expectation—to be a boy, to be Black, and to be queer in ways that conform to rigid, often unforgiving norms. It is about the knotted path of becoming, while navigating the always-present fear of emotional and physical violence, and the threat of isolation for simply being who you are. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhill Branch\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a writer, live performance storyteller, and regional Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. He is a 2025 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council’s Creativity Grant and received the Council's highest honor, the Individual Artist Award, for Theater (Solo Performance) in 2019. He was the GrandSLAM Champion of The Moth in D.C. in 2018 and has since traveled all over the country and overseas to tell stories with the organization. Branch was a 2014 Lambda Literary Nonfiction Emerging Voices Fellow and is the founder and Creative Director of Baltimore Story Fest, a showcase for live, personal storytelling. An alumnus of the American Film Institute, Branch has an MFA in Screenwriting. He earned his BA in Mass Media Arts at Hampton University and later returned as a professor in the English department to teach writing and develop the Film Studies program. Currently, Branch is a Resident Artist at the Howard County Center for the Arts in Maryland.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCategory: \u003c\/b\u003eNonfiction,\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eMemoir,\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eQueer Studies\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage: \u003c\/b\u003eEnglish\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat\/Binding: \u003c\/b\u003eHardcover\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBook Condition: \u003c\/b\u003eNew\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cspan\u003e0063384930\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/b\u003e978-\u003cspan\u003e0063384934\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Amistad Press\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDate Published: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJune 02, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages: \u003c\/b\u003e288\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cb\u003eTerms of Sale\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll book sales are final. No returns or exchanges.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePurchaser will receive a new book that has never been read.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book will be shipped within 7 to 10 business days of receipt of order via a major mail carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEX, or DHL) and may take up to 14 days to arrive depending on the carrier and destination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternational shipping is also available.\u003cspan style=\"color: #24d7de;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr. Well-Travelled","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50312208122049,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/4756\/3713\/files\/The_Double_Dutch_Fuss-_A_Memoir_-_Phill_Branch_-_mrwelltravelled_-_black_owned_online_bookstore_-_every_day_is_juneteenth_-_black_pride.jpg?v=1780955243","url":"https:\/\/shop.mrwelltravelled.com\/products\/the-double-dutch-fuss-a-memoir-hardcover","provider":"Mr. Well-Travelled","version":"1.0","type":"link"}