You Are Your Best Thing

Starred review from May 1, 2021

With this groundbreaking anthology, Burke, founder of the Me Too movement, and Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection), bring together several Black writers to discuss forms of shame that Black people endure on a regular basis and the resilience they're forced to build in response. After a dialogue between Burke and Brown on whiteness and privilege, the editors write that this is a book specifically about Black people, and they succeed in showing the vast scope of Black experiences. Highlights include essays by Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts on shame narratives embedded within the Black church, and Laverne Cox on working through her internalized transphobia. In a powerful essay, Yolo Akili Robinson reminds readers that we are often taught, through a lens of white supremacy, to be ashamed of being Black. What stands out in this book is its argument that we don't choose to take on shame or resilience; rather, Burke writes, these are conditions that Black people are often subjected to, especially where disability and sexuality intersect with race. VERDICT Within these pages, Black readers in general, and Black women in particular, will find at least one essay they can relate to, or that offers validation for their lived experience. An essential read.--Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2021
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.

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