Uzo Aduba To Publish Memoir That Details ‘Final Account’ of Mother’s Life: 'My Greatest Growth' (Exclusive)

In a new book, Uzo Aduba is reflecting on an important relationship in her life.

The Emmy-winning actress, 43, has shared the cover of her forthcoming memoir exclusively with PEOPLE. The Road Is Good: How a Mother’s Strength Became a Daughter’s Purpose will be published by Viking this fall.

The book is an homage to Aduba’s late mother Nonyem, who died in 2020, according to the publisher. The Orange Is the New Black actress pulled from her family history ��� including anecdotes from her mother, aunts and uncles — as well as her findings from her trips to Nigeria and New York for auditions to tell a “unique coming-of-age story” and a “timely examination of Black immigrant identity.”

“When I initially started thinking about writing a book, I thought I would only be telling funny stories of my life and work and the quirky, wise advice my mother had handed out to me over the years,” Aduba tells PEOPLE. “I had no idea that mixed in with that, I would also be making a final account of her life. I didn’t know that, in real time, I would be learning how to apply the best of myself, which is the best of her, into my greatest growth.”

Aduba writes of her mother’s wisdom, as well as her and her siblings' upbringing as one of few Black families in the Massachusetts suburbs, before Aduba rose to fame. The actress earned Emmy Awards for her breakout role as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black and her portrayal of Shirley Chisholm in the Hulu mini series Miss America, and is set to appear in Shonda Rhimes' upcoming Netflix murder mystery series The Residence.

Aduba is also an advocate for human and women’s rights; she serves as Heifer International’s ambassador to Africa and as an ambassador for Stand Up to Cancer.

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As for her book, the actress aims for The Road Is Good to showcase positivity, and pay tribute to Nonyem's ability to ground her family toward success.

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“I hope the book shows readers that, despite the challenges we all inevitably face, there is good to be sought and found in the world,” Aduba says. “That life holds so much for each of us. That each life is a story and no matter how big or small, long or short, it has an impact.”

The Road Is Good: How a Mother’s Strength Became a Daughter’s Purpose will be published on Sept. 24, 2024 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.