Growing Up Defiant

By Julie Duffin
August 2025 View more Books

We often hear stories of brave heroes who stood up to injustice and changed history. But everyday acts of quiet courage often go unnoticed. In his debut book, Defiant Acts, James Stewart III shines a light on how his family lived out their values while navigating life as a mixed-race family in 1990s Naperville.

Inspired by true events, the book shares short, fictionalized stories about how the author’s family dealt with racism. Growing up in a biracial family, Stewart recalls how his white mother was disowned by her parents for marrying his Black father. Choosing love over family approval, his parents raised him, his two white stepbrothers, and two biracial siblings in a small Naperville apartment where race wasn’t an issue until they stepped outside.

“It’s a defiant act for certain people to live lives on their terms in this country,” Stewart says. “I hope readers will find some strength in these tough times and see that the everyday, thankless acts they are already doing are incredible. I also hope people see their own families in these stories and find the strength within to attack some of society’s bigger problems.”

Stewart returns to Naperville on Aug. 8 for a reading and conversation at Anderson’s Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave.

Photos: James Stewart III