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4.54 AVERAGE
4.54 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Everyone needs to read this, doesn't matter who you are.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Absolutely beautiful. Beautifully written by a beautiful person who has lived through this life. And beautifully read by the author himself. Having been born with very light skin and raised in a white family while being told I am “American,” there has always been a separation between what they say I am and should be vs how I’m actually treated. And until this last year, I haven’t understood why. I’ve assumed it was me, my core, my being was just wrong. Unable to fit in. Incapable of achieving what others have told me was so simple. This book has helped me feel seen and less alone. This book has given me a reason to hope that I can still find my people. People who don’t expect me to partake in the Dream.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a phenomenal writer! It's such a short little book, but it took me a while to get through just because I wanted to reread almost every sentence because they hit me in the gut so hard.
But don't listen to me, listen to Toni Morrison, "this is required reading."
But don't listen to me, listen to Toni Morrison, "this is required reading."
informative
reflective
medium-paced
If this book doesn’t fill you with rage and a drive to do something, I’m not sure we can be friends. Coates is an absolutely beautiful writer. His words are not as full of hate as they could be, but since this book is a letter to his son it makes sense that it is contradictorily a soft approach to the harsh reality that Black people face in the world. From page one the messages were powerful. I listened to the book on audio, and Coates narrates the book himself which adds a lot to the story, especially because you can hear the love he has for his son shining through every message he imparts. Still, I’ve also ordered a copy of the book to have so that I can reread again and highlight all the passages that moved me and that I know I will need to revisit. This is the second book I’ve read recently that touches on the dehumanization of victims and it’s really making me think. There’s a lot to learn and a long way to go.
There are books that open your eyes to the world and this is one of them. On the surface you know how the world is and the struggle for BIPOC, but it’s difficult to grasp it sometimes. This book formatted in an open letter helped me to see things I had not before. I hope this lasts so I continue becoming a better ally.
If it doesn’t last, I know this book will be read again and again.
If it doesn’t last, I know this book will be read again and again.
A beautiful love story that brought tears to my eyes. The tragedy always exists, but the love is what made me emotional.
emotional
informative
This book is like a meteorite headed straight for you: you can feel the fire and understand the danger, but you can't tear your eyes away from its wild beauty. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a poet, and he writes about his righteous anger toward American racism with a passion I could not ignore. Each individual page frustrated me with a lack of direction. I kept wanting to say, "Yes, but what am I supposed to DO?" In the end, however, I think that reading the book was what I was supposed to do. Though I grieve Coates's lack of a spiritual life which robs him of that essential hope, I think that his strong words will have helped along the change which is still struggling to be born in this country in ways which will live after his fragile body is gone.