“Matriarch,” the new memoir from Tina Knowles — mom of Beyoncé, Solange and bonus daughters Kelly Rowland and Angie Beyincé — is over 400 pages. But considering what Knowles has accomplished and experienced in her 71 years, the book length doesn’t feel unjustified. In fact, Knowles said that there were another 500 pages that didn’t make the final cut.
But what she shares in the book paints an intimate portrait of a woman who’s used her struggles and creativity as her superpowers.
In “Matriarch” (One World,$24.48), Knowles traces her family history while getting candid about her experiences with police brutality, her ex-husband’s infidelity and a breast cancer diagnosis (Knowles is now cancer-free). There are joyous moments, too, like her friendship with her nephew Johnny and nurturing her daughters’ talents.
“It’s just time to tell my story,” Knowles told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Zoom. “I don’t want anybody else to tell it. There are so many stories and lies and innuendoes about my family that I wanted people to hear my story from me.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
On Thursday, Knowles will be in Atlanta to talk about her new book. Tyler Perry will host the conversation. Gospel singer Le’Andria Johnson is slated to perform.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Q: Congrats on being No. 1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list! Where were you when you heard the news?
A: I was on stage doing a book club (for my book). I belong to a book club. I love women’s book clubs, so I’ll talk in this group of about maybe 60 women. All of a sudden, (my publicist) Yvette comes on the stage and told me the news. When I tell you that it was surreal, it didn’t even sink in for me.
Q: You’ve worn many hats over the years. What made you want to add author to that list?
A: People have offered me book deals before, but my thought process was always, ‘They just want to know my kids’ business, and they think I’m going to spill some tea.’ I just didn’t really feel that people would be interested in my story. It’s something about turning 70 that you just feel free. When I was 59 years old, I got a divorce (from first husband Matthew Knowles), and I just felt this need to document my life for my grandchildren. I don’t know if it was just me fearing my own mortality, but I just got my cellphone and started with the voice recordings of telling the story of how my parents migrated to Texas from Louisiana.
Credit: CECILE BOKO
Credit: CECILE BOKO
Q: Your grandkids are really lucky to have this book about you. I didn’t get a chance to meet my maternal grandparents, so I think a lot about what I don’t know regarding my family’s history.
A: When you start delving into your history, you’ll get all the answers as to why you do things the way you do. It’s funny because a few months before the book, I was looking up my daddy’s folks because I couldn’t remember my grandmother’s name on my dad’s side. I looked up her name, and then I said, ‘Let me see what her mama’s name was.’ And can you believe that her mother’s middle name was Solange? And I was like, ‘No way. This is not real. Somebody is just doing this to try to connect the dots.’ I had no idea, because I got Solange’s name from a French baby name book that I got in Paris.
Q: When reliving some of the more traumatic moments in your book, was it painful or did it become a source of healing?
A: Both. The harassment from the police (was painful), because it was such fear around that. Even now, I’m 71 years old, but when I talk about that night, I physically feel it in my body. It just showed me that the trauma is in my body, and I had never really dealt with it. When you grow up poor, you just keep it moving and you don’t have time to analyze it.
Q: There were moments in the book where you said you felt unprotected by your mom. How did you learn to be a protector for your kids?
A: She protected me in so many ways that I didn’t realize or appreciate at the time. I couldn’t see it. I just thought she was weak. I could become a beast when protecting my kids. I can cuss you out. I can fight you. But my mom never raised her voice, and so in my mind, she was not strong. But she was strong. I would just protect my kids at all costs. I would make rules about what you could do around them and what you couldn’t do around them. I was very, very protective. And it came from me not feeling protected.
Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP
Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP
Q: Yeah, I’m learning how it’s often necessary to give our parents grace.
A: How could I expect my mama to be this bold person that was such a protector when she wasn’t protected? When she had been through so much stuff that I don’t even think the average person could go through and still not be bitter and still be a good person and have all this faith? When you’re younger, you don’t have grace for your parents.
Q: I liked learning more about your creativity in the book — from being in the Veltones to your passion for making clothes and styling hair. Were you always creative?
A: I joked that in school, I would have been happy to skip school and just go right into my creative thing, because I never liked school. But anything creative at school, I was all into it — if it was home economics, if it was a talent show, if it was decorating things. Anything that required creativity was when I was in my element and I felt the best about myself.
Q: In the book, you share that you noticed the creative talents of your children at an early age. What’s your proudest moment as a mom?
A: No matter what kind of awards they win, what I’m the most proud of my kids are when they give back to humanity. All of them are humanitarians, and that is the best thing.
Q: Tyler Perry will be speaking at your Atlanta tour stop. The book details how he said he was proud of you after your recent divorce (from actor Richard Lawson)
A: Tyler is a very good friend, somebody that’s very honest and will call you out on your stuff and just tell the truth, even if it kind of hurts your feelings. He’s the best kind of friend to have. It’s kind of like having a brother. When he told me that, he said it could seem contradictory because he liked (Richard and I) together so much. And of course, he wanted to see us together, but he was like, ‘I’m just proud of you, because women stay in marriages that are unhappy, and they think they’re doing it for their kids, but they’re not.’
Q: What are your favorite things to do in Atlanta?
A: I love to eat when I come to Atlanta, of course, because they got the best food. I love the High Museum. It’s one of my favorite museums because they have a lot of Black art. I like the people. It’s a down-to-earthness about people from the South.
IF YOU GO
Matriarch: An Evening With Tina Knowles, Family and Friends
7 p.m. May 8. $55-$130. Tabernacle. 152 Luckie St., Atlanta. 404-659-9022, tabernacleatl.com. To learn more about the book and start a family history journey for free, visit Ancestry.com/MATRIARCH
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