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lilianangelicae_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
jearp06's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This was a really thought-provoking book. I definitely will need to reread it again to really absorb all of the ideas. It gave me a lot to think about.
livurlif12's review against another edition
5.0
What an incredible book! The most powerful memoir that I have read in 2020. I can not recommend it enough. Thank you to Valerie Kaur for this gift to the world.
notanotherstephanie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
jessicaps's review against another edition
4.0
A must-read. Kaur’s writing style takes getting used to, but it’s worth it.
maralyons's review against another edition
5.0
Valarie Kaur’s ‘See No Stranger’ is a fascinating, life affirming, poetically written memoir and call to action for us all. She is a Sikh American woman that has devoted her life to care and action as an activist, civil rights lawyer, and filmmaker. Kaur’s ethos is to “see no stranger” and to wonder about everyone, showing them compassion, even if their words and/or actions are filled with hate. Hatred often comes from a place of pain or loss. She details the hate speech and violent actions suffered by so many due to skyrocketing Islamophobia and bigotry in the US following the 9/11 attacks. Kaur recounted stunning acts of forgiveness by individuals and a focus on building community following brutal hate crimes. Kaur uses birth as a metaphor for activists and encourages them to push and breathe and repeat the process. This will give us endurance in activism. My one complaint is that the book seemed a little longer than it needed to be and some of the chapters were a bit meandering. The audiobook was wonderful as Kaur sings the Sikh devotional poems that are interspersed throughout the text. Valarie Kaur’s openness, vulnerability, and strength are absolutely inspiring and I will try harder to embody these characteristics in my own life.
Thank you NetGalley and One World/Random House Publishing Group for providing this ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and One World/Random House Publishing Group for providing this ARC.
kaetheghost's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
elemee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
revellee's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book. I admit to thinking the author too cheesy sounding right off the bat. I assumed this book would be like a lot of other memoir/inspirational books that are mostly just self-serving and narcissistic drivel. I was very wrong.
This book moved me more than any other book has in ... maybe ever? It's beautiful, tragic, poignant, hopeful, relatable, heartbreaking, joyful, and inspirational.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to anyone else who's grown numb and depressed and detached due to *gestures at everything*
This is my favorite passage:
"We were dancing on election night. I felt energy in my body. I felt joy... Joy returns us to everything that is good and beautiful and worth fighting for. In joy, we see even darkness with new eyes. I was not alone. I was one in millions. I was part of a movement. One in a constellation. I had to shine my light in my specific slice of sky. I could do that.
I did not know then all the crises yet to come, the rise of white nationalists who held this presidency as their great awakening, mass detentions and deportations, Muslim bans, zero tolerance policies separating migrant children from their parents, attacks on the rights of queer and trans people, assaults on women, and women's rights, and new mass shootings and hate violence against Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, black people, Latinx people, indigenous people, and immigrants.
All I knew was that the future was dark. And that as it got darker and more violent people would get tired, go numb, and retreat into whatever privilege they might have. I wanted to help people stay in the fire. I wanted to help myself stay in the fire. I concluded that revolutionary love was the call of our times and started building the tools to practice it."
This book moved me more than any other book has in ... maybe ever? It's beautiful, tragic, poignant, hopeful, relatable, heartbreaking, joyful, and inspirational.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to anyone else who's grown numb and depressed and detached due to *gestures at everything*
This is my favorite passage:
"We were dancing on election night. I felt energy in my body. I felt joy... Joy returns us to everything that is good and beautiful and worth fighting for. In joy, we see even darkness with new eyes. I was not alone. I was one in millions. I was part of a movement. One in a constellation. I had to shine my light in my specific slice of sky. I could do that.
I did not know then all the crises yet to come, the rise of white nationalists who held this presidency as their great awakening, mass detentions and deportations, Muslim bans, zero tolerance policies separating migrant children from their parents, attacks on the rights of queer and trans people, assaults on women, and women's rights, and new mass shootings and hate violence against Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, black people, Latinx people, indigenous people, and immigrants.
All I knew was that the future was dark. And that as it got darker and more violent people would get tired, go numb, and retreat into whatever privilege they might have. I wanted to help people stay in the fire. I wanted to help myself stay in the fire. I concluded that revolutionary love was the call of our times and started building the tools to practice it."