Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'
See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur
12 reviews
emalderwood's review against another edition
5.0
This was like a love letter to anyone who is laboring for a better world founded in love - real, just love and not the kind that doesn't require action. The bits of personal experience lent depth and poignancy to the lessons imparted and it really felt like a big sister taking me by the hand and saying "you are strong enough, and you are not alone." I cried so many times reading this - both at the wisdom Valarie Kaur shared, the words that spoke to me, and at the weight of the grief and pain she recounts bearing witness to. Anyone struggling to make sense of injustice, to find their way in a broken world, or to keep working towards justice through pain and grief: READ. THIS. BOOK.
I also appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the Sikh faith. Kaur wove elements of her spirituality throughout the book in a way that was accessible, I believe, to anyone of any faith. She has studied other religions and holds appreciation for practices beyond her own and uses examples to help demonstrate how specific wisdom is relevant to other spiritualities.
Graphic: Gun violence and Hate crime
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault
Minor: Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
t_m_loewenelofson's review against another edition
4.5
Minor: Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Confinement
meganpbell's review
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Hate crime
Moderate: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Suicide attempt and Torture
beth_simmons's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Hate crime, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, and Medical content
parablesarah's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, War, Islamophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Gun violence, and Grief
ajaggers324's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Torture, Confinement, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Antisemitism, Infertility, Genocide, War, Pregnancy, Cancer, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Bullying
sneaky_snake22's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Racism, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Rape, Murder, and Suicide attempt
She talks as a survivor and someone who works with survivors to move in and through their grief. This is a very honest and difficult book but 100% worth it.readalongwithnat's review
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Police brutality, Racism, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Medical content, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
maddie7217's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Murder, Islamophobia, and Mass/school shootings
leweylibrary's review against another edition
4.5
Quotes:
- New horrors keep arising from old impulses. The past keeps bleeding into the present. No civilization in the world is exempt. But what is particular to America is that many who suffered enormous loss and destruction have had to do so alone, had to marshal language to tell the story, only to find that there was no one to hear it because their suffering contradicts the story that the nation keeps telling itself--the story of American exceptionalism. America is a beacon of light, the singular enforcer of truth. Our sorry of exceptionalism doesn't allow us to confront our past with open eyes. A nation that cannot see its own past cannot see the suffering it has caused, suffering that persists into the present. A nation that cannot see our suffering cannot grieve with us. A nation that cannot grieve with us cannot know us, and therefore cannot love us. (58)
- This is not the dominant narrative of American history, but, if you look closely, you can see many stories of solidarity. In response to great violence or injustice, there are people who rush to bury the dead, cut down the lynching noose, or attend the memorials to say: not in my name. When people who have no obvious reason to love each other it come together to grieve, they can give birth to new relationships, even revolutions. (59)
- ... witnessing suffering does not necessarily lead to meaningful action. The credits roll; we go home or swipe the screen. We think that something has been accomplished because we are emotionally spent, but nothing has changed. We can have all the empathy in the world for a group of people and still participate in the struggles and systems that oppress them. We might believe we are listening, but we have journeyed only half the circle. We have drawn close to the story and lost ourselves in another's experience, but we haven't returned to ourselves and asked: what fits this demand of me? Is it the reckoning of my privilege? Is it an expansion of whose struggles connect with mine? What will I do differently now? (144)
- "it's easy to love people who love you back," she [Her mother] said. "When somebody gives you pain, how do you love that person? That's the real test of love." (262)
- America needs to reconcile itself and do the work of apology: to say to indigenous, black, and brown people, we take full ownership for what we did. To say, we owe you (ital) everything. To say, we see how harm runs through generations. To say, we own this legacy and will not harm you again. To promise the non-repetition of harm would require nothing less than transitioning the nation as a whole. It would mean retiring the old narrative about who we are--a city on a hill--and embracing a new narrative of an America longing to be born, a nation whose promised lies in the future, a nation we can only realize by doing the labor: reckoning with the past, reconciling with ourselves, restructuring our institutions, and letting those who have been most harmed be the ones to lead us through the transition. (271)
- I don't know how this will end or how much worse it will get. But in such moments, I see glimpses of a nation waiting to be born, this society we aspire to be--in America that is multiracial, multi-faith, multi-gendered, and multicultural, a nation where power is shared and we strive to protect the wellness and dignity of every person and work to save our earth and our collective future. Each of us has a role in this long labor, no matter who is in the White House. That means when a voice in us says "I can't," Our most urgent task is to find the wisdom to stay in the fire. (288)
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Some quotes I love: