An impressive, intimate, inclusive, truth-telling treasure.
Essays on shame and vulnerability from a diverse array of Black thinkers.
“White supremacy,” writes co-editor Burke, “has added another layer to the kind of shame [Black people] have to deal with, and the kind of resilience we have to build, and the kind of vulnerability that we are constantly subjected to whether we choose it or not.” Burke teams up with researcher and bestselling author Brown in a collection of 20 essays by Burke, actor Laverne Cox, scholar Imani Perry, writers Kiese Laymon and Jason Reynolds, and a host of educators, artists, activists, and other thought leaders who explore the Black experience with shame resilience and vulnerability. They frame the issues through a variety of lenses, including mental illness, masculinity, religion, disability, addiction, queer identity, academia, and grief. In a stunning essay among many standouts, Sonya Renee Taylor writes, “My mommy was dead in every city of every nation on the planet and that truth bulldozed me.” Fittingly, the title of this extraordinary collection is derived from a line from Toni Morrison’s Beloved, a novel about the nature of freedom and the reclamation of self. Tanya Denise Fields, founder and executive director of the Black Feminist Project, deconstructs the shame she felt as a victim of intimate partner violence, and Reynolds reckons with a shameful moment in his relationship with his beloved mother. Austin Channing Brown writes about “foreboding joy” and the moment she saw her toddler son’s reflection in the mirror; he was wearing a hoodie and looked like a tiny Trayvon Martin. Penned by a refreshing blend of well-known and lesser-known contributors, these compact, deeply reflective essays pack emotional punches usually found only in full-length memoir. The writers powerfully articulate not only their challenges, but also their hope, resilience, and practical wisdom.
An impressive, intimate, inclusive, truth-telling treasure.Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-24362-6
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.
The comedian argues that the arts of moderation and common sense must be reinvigorated.
Some people are born snarky, some become snarky, and some have snarkiness thrust upon them. Judging from this book, Maher—host of HBO’s Real Time program and author of The New New Rules and When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden—is all three. As a comedian, he has a great deal of leeway to make fun of people in politics, and he often delivers hilarious swipes with a deadpan face. The author describes himself as a traditional liberal, with a disdain for Republicans (especially the MAGA variety) and a belief in free speech and personal freedom. He claims that he has stayed much the same for more than 20 years, while the left, he argues, has marched toward intolerance. He sees an addiction to extremism on both sides of the aisle, which fosters the belief that anyone who disagrees with you must be an enemy to be destroyed. However, Maher has always displayed his own streaks of extremism, and his scorched-earth takedowns eventually become problematic. The author has something nasty to say about everyone, it seems, and the sarcastic tone starts after more than 300 pages. As has been the case throughout his career, Maher is best taken in small doses. The book is worth reading for the author’s often spot-on skewering of inept politicians and celebrities, but it might be advisable to occasionally dip into it rather than read the whole thing in one sitting. Some parts of the text are hilarious, but others are merely insulting. Maher is undeniably talented, but some restraint would have produced a better book.
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781668051351
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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