Along with her other writing assignments acclaimed author Alice Walker has been keeping a diary.

And  the  author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple has a deal with Simon & Schuster  to publish a selection of her private writings  in 2017.

The book is called Gathering Blossoms Under Fire and will also feature new essays from Walker that look back on her life.

The 69-year-old Walker has been keeping a diary for half a century, filling dozens of notebooks that track her rise from poverty in Georgia to international fame.