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sarabrickwall's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I picked this book up thinking it was going to be a typical financial self-help book full of useful tips for saving and getting your foot on the property ladder – the perfect read to kickstart a brand-new year.
We Need to Talk About Money (WNTTAM) is excellently written and a really valuable read. Whilst it does not offer a step-by-step guide on how to better manage your finances, it does provide insightful commentary about the effects of capitalism on women and women of colour specifically.
From generational wealth and entering the world of work, to navigating the housing market for the first time and how our money scripts are influenced by our parents, Uwagba beautifully articulates these commonly discussed themes by intertwining them with the taboo subject of money and for the reader, it is truly enlightening.
Statistics around the gender pay gap, the amount of ‘unpaid work’ women do in comparison to men alongside their jobs, and the ‘pink tax’, were not surprising to me, but something I’d never previously considered was the other emotional labour women are often faced with (in and outside of the workplace), as well as the time (not just the cost) spent each month to look a certain way.
Uwagba’s personal anecdotes and analysis of modern money woes, will no doubt resonate with many but for me, this book made me feel more consciously aware of my own relationship with money and my approach moving forward. I’d say this is a must read for any millennial wanting a somewhat candid and non-judgmental discussion around money, but also some food for thought on the barriers presented by class and race when it comes to changing your financial situation.
jasmina1811's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
purplemuskogee's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Otegha Uwagba, writer and journalist, starts this book with her family's arrival in London ("a city inexplicably enamoured of the colour grey") from Nigeria, her happy childhood in Elephant and Castle, her parents hiding their financial worries as well as they could, and supporting her education. As she secures a scholarship to go to a private school, and then earns a place in Oxford, she details her relationship with money, and with others who often had more than her. The shape of the book is funny - half memoir, half collection of essays. I think it could be both but it could have been done with more grace - the autobiographical details are interesting and what makes the book so engaging, but they were lost in some of the longer chapters. She does a great job though at keeping readers interested by touching on many different topics - beauty (how expensive it is, but how much you have to lose financially and professionally if you are perceived as not doing enough), living (renting in London especially), work and being paid fairly for one's job, asking for a raise, etc. It was a clever mix of academic studies on women and wages, historical facts, and Uwagba's personal experience.
Free copy shared by Netgalley.
Free copy shared by Netgalley.
opheliastephanie's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good book but I feel I was mis-sold a bit by the title. This was, in my opinion, The Other Black Girl as non-fiction. A very readable, interesting and enticing book,thought provoking and full of good conversations and talking points.