First published in 1991, it relates the African American author's experiences at the elite St. Paul's boarding school in New Hampshire.

The book, Cary's first publication and the stepping stone to her career as a writer, was a critical and commercial success.

In 1972, she was invited to the elite St. Paul's boarding school in New Hampshire, on scholarship,[2] as only the second African-American female student.

[2] She spent two years at St. Paul's, graduating in 1974,[3] and then worked as a journalist for publications including Time.

After first writing about her experience at St. Paul's in a magazine article in 1988,[4] she published a more complete memoir, Black Ice.