Terry McMillan Reading Order

2 books (1990–2002)

Terry McMillan edited two important anthologies of Black literature, published between 1990 and 2002. Both collections should be read in publication order, beginning with Breaking Ice followed by Making Callaloo: 25 Years of Black Literature. This complete series spans over a decade and showcases diverse voices and styles within African American literary tradition.

Start with Breaking Ice and read in order.

#	Title
1	Breaking Ice 1990Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Making Callaloo: 25 Years of Black Literature 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2006–2025)

Terry McMillan has written two nonfiction books in this ongoing series, beginning with It's OK if You're Clueless: and 23 More Tips for the College Bound in 2006 and continuing with It Was the Way She Said It in 2025. Read these works in publication order to follow the series as intended.

Start with It's OK if You're Clueless: and 23 More Tips for the College Bound and read in order.

#	Title
1	It's OK if You're Clueless: and 23 More Tips for the College Bound 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	It Was the Way She Said It 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

8 books (1987–2020)

Terry McMillan's collection of eight standalone novels spans from 1987 to 2020 and should be read in publication order, beginning with Mama. Each book in the series stands alone as a complete story, though reading them chronologically reveals McMillan's evolving perspective on relationships, family dynamics, and personal growth. The series concludes with It's Not All Downhill from Here, making this a finished collection for readers seeking the author's full body of work across multiple decades.

Start with Mama, the first of 8 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Mama 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Disappearing Acts 1989Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	How Stella Got Her Groove Back 1996Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Day Late and a Dollar Short 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Interruption of Everything 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Who Asked You? 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	I Almost Forgot About You 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	It's Not All Downhill from Here 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (1992–2010)

Terry McMillan's two-book series begins with Waiting to Exhale, published in 1992, and concludes with Getting to Happy in 2010. This complete series should be read in publication order to follow the narrative progression. The books explore themes of relationships, personal growth, and resilience across their nearly two-decade span.

Start with Waiting to Exhale and read in order.

#	Title
1	Waiting to Exhale 1992Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Getting to Happy 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible