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hwareads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
nicolepv's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
_inge's review against another edition
3.5
Insightful and enlightening, but also brutally honest and open. Finished it in one sitting as I couldn’t stop reading. It’s written in an accessible way, whilst covering some distressing topics. I definitely feel like I’ve come away from reading this with new knowledge about black, British motherhood.
alicemotion's review
5.0
Memoir of famous blogger Candice Braithwaite in which she aims to “humanise the black British motherhood experience”. Eye opening, touching, funny and honest, but above all a rallying cry to action and for recognition of the factors that white mothers dont ever have to consider. A must read for anyone.
awhittz's review
4.5
This book made me cry and boil with hot rage. Particularly the chapter about her first birth, which heartbreakingly illustrates the subtle but entrenched racism which makes Black British women FIVE TIMES more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Still, in the UK, in modern times. Overall the book isn’t as bleak as I’m making it sound, Brathwaite writes beautifully and very engagingly and I blitzed through it in a day. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
kilkennykate's review
5.0
Beautifully written, absolutely heart breaking at times, it gives a deep inside into black motherhood.
leapyearkiddo's review
5.0
This book is a must read. The writing is brilliant and intelligent, and it's clear that Candice Braithwaite is a very talented writer and orator.
To be clear on my privellege. I am a white woman living in a predominantly white town in Scotland with no children. I work in the NHS as a midwife and am aware of the inequalities of health between black and white women, as well as women from other minority backgrounds. The MBRRACE report is an uncomfortable read on which we must inform our practice and strive to do better. I had this knowledge prior to reading. However, the book brought my attention to standard parts of maternity practice such as baby wearing that I had taken for granted without thought of where it originated. I'm grateful Candice was so open in discussing her birth and postnatal experience, which was a difficult read but very important. Although I have a particular interest in maternity care I found every part of this book thought provoking and necessary.
Congratulations on a stellar first book Candice Brathwaite and thank you for your work!
To be clear on my privellege. I am a white woman living in a predominantly white town in Scotland with no children. I work in the NHS as a midwife and am aware of the inequalities of health between black and white women, as well as women from other minority backgrounds. The MBRRACE report is an uncomfortable read on which we must inform our practice and strive to do better. I had this knowledge prior to reading. However, the book brought my attention to standard parts of maternity practice such as baby wearing that I had taken for granted without thought of where it originated. I'm grateful Candice was so open in discussing her birth and postnatal experience, which was a difficult read but very important. Although I have a particular interest in maternity care I found every part of this book thought provoking and necessary.
Congratulations on a stellar first book Candice Brathwaite and thank you for your work!
anneofgreenplaces's review
3.0
I bought this as a Daily Deal on Audible because I was curious to hear a British take on experiences of racism and anti-racism and the specific themes of black motherhood and family Braithwaite explores, and that is what I got. While it was written with passion and clarity, there was less stylistic/narrative craft and subtlety than I tend to look for in memoir-style writing. This isn't really a memoir; it serves a very specific purpose of framing a very direct call to arms undergirded by the author's personal experiences, so I can't complain too much about the lack of subtlety. However, I did find the message sometimes diluted by the clunky scene writing, even though paradoxically it was her personal experiences that I was most interested in. I think her journalistic fact-based reporting was actually stronger writing, although her telling of her initial fears surrouding parenthood and her ghastly experience with postnatal care was compelling. I would be curious to add other perspectives and a wider range of writing styles to my British anti-racism library.