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Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing From White Supremacy by Rachel Ricketts
alipp's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Doesn’t feel right to give this a star rating. Really informative. I’ve read a number of anti-racism books so there weren’t a ton of new concepts to me but I appreciated the offerings and practices at the end of each chapter
nancf's review against another edition
3.0
Do Better was not what I expected. A couple of chapters in, I was ready to abandon reading, and though there are things I did not like I am glad that I finished it. I did learn.
I did not like Ricketts' use of words (folx, humxn, Periodt, frequent expletives) though I can understand her reasons for doing so, and she would likely call me out for my comment. I am glad that she included a Glossary in the back as there were some terms unfamiliar to me. Ricketts wrote as if she was talking and I think that a published book should be more formal. I also thought that she stereotyped races and women to an extent. I did appreciate her personal life stories, and while I did not always understand her perspective, I could empathize with her feelings of mistreatment. Some of the author's points were things that had never occurred to me and I am glad to gain that insight. Other points I could identify with, though I am different from Ricketts.
Ricketts is dismissive of Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, without mentioning her by name. Interestingly, I rated both books the same and found that neither gave me all of what I wanted from reading them.
The spirtuality aspect of the book was very different than I expected. Ricketts' concept of spirituality seems to be rooted is self-care, breathing. She is critical of Christianity/Catholicism. (I agree with some of her criticism.)
Although I skimmed some parts of the book (too much repetition), I do think I learned from Ricketts' point of view. Perhaps, though, she could have better expressed her perspectives in a series of articles or talks (and maybe she has; I don't know) instead of book form.
"One of the many privileges afforded to white people by white supremacy is the ability to simply be who they are without preconceived negative stereotypes regarding intellect, ability, class, criminal history, language, origin, or otherwise thrust upon them strictly due to the color of their skin." (7)
I did not like Ricketts' use of words (folx, humxn, Periodt, frequent expletives) though I can understand her reasons for doing so, and she would likely call me out for my comment. I am glad that she included a Glossary in the back as there were some terms unfamiliar to me. Ricketts wrote as if she was talking and I think that a published book should be more formal. I also thought that she stereotyped races and women to an extent. I did appreciate her personal life stories, and while I did not always understand her perspective, I could empathize with her feelings of mistreatment. Some of the author's points were things that had never occurred to me and I am glad to gain that insight. Other points I could identify with, though I am different from Ricketts.
Ricketts is dismissive of Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, without mentioning her by name. Interestingly, I rated both books the same and found that neither gave me all of what I wanted from reading them.
The spirtuality aspect of the book was very different than I expected. Ricketts' concept of spirituality seems to be rooted is self-care, breathing. She is critical of Christianity/Catholicism. (I agree with some of her criticism.)
Although I skimmed some parts of the book (too much repetition), I do think I learned from Ricketts' point of view. Perhaps, though, she could have better expressed her perspectives in a series of articles or talks (and maybe she has; I don't know) instead of book form.
"One of the many privileges afforded to white people by white supremacy is the ability to simply be who they are without preconceived negative stereotypes regarding intellect, ability, class, criminal history, language, origin, or otherwise thrust upon them strictly due to the color of their skin." (7)
jaclynekhoff's review against another edition
I am sure there are a lot of people who will learn from this book.
I think I’ve just read so many books about anti-racism, ally-ship, and histories of black, indigenous, and other marginalized communities this past year…that there just wasn’t anything new here for me. For this, I don’t feel like I can give it a fair or accurate rating.
I think I’ve just read so many books about anti-racism, ally-ship, and histories of black, indigenous, and other marginalized communities this past year…that there just wasn’t anything new here for me. For this, I don’t feel like I can give it a fair or accurate rating.
mama_waves's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book over seven months with our small Canadian/American bookclub. We've already read White Women and White Feminism and this was our third book together. I loved the bite-sized and conversational messages. And I especially appreciated the reflection questions at the end of each chapter.
One thing that I struggle with is quitening my mind. The meditations challenged me and will continue to as i revisit this book.
One thing that I struggle with is quitening my mind. The meditations challenged me and will continue to as i revisit this book.
erin_j_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I got this from the library but will buy it so I can read it on my own schedule as I need it.
janickiam's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
4.0
nicole_reads_everything's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this was a really great book, and one written to (though not for) white women. The writing was quite engaging and easy to understand, though the author doesn't mince words or pull punches when it comes to letting white women in particular know the ways in which we need to step up and do better. Which is something I very much appreciated, but I do think that was helped along by the fact that I've done a lot of reading and work in this area beforehand. Each chapter is accompanied by journaling exercises at the end and I though the author did a great job mixing the prose with prompts to bring it from theory to practice. Definitely a book I'd recommend for anybody, but particularly for white women.