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504 reviews for:
You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience
Tarana Burke, Brené Brown
4.56 AVERAGE
504 reviews for:
You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience
Tarana Burke, Brené Brown
4.56 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. I looked forward to reading the anthology of black voices, but rather than this having the power of shining a light on the black experience and how shame can envelop so much of the lives of the community, it was (in my opinion) more an activist chant for things outside of that. It also generalized greatly. Black people are not a monolith.
All I needed to know was that Kiese Laymon and Imani Perry contributed to this book to know this was going to be exceptional. And it is. It is a tender, loving collection of personal stories from artists and activists. It is their modeling of vulnerability, expressing their shame, resilience, and their healing journey. It highlights our shared humanity and our expansiveness; our diversity in geography, sexuality, experiences, trauma, education, etc.
Because of this anthology, I have started journaling about my personal shame and the ways I have contributed to shaming others, even in my silence. I’m moved and inspired by Kiese Laymon writing odes and apologies to people he disrespected and harmed and to body parts he neglected.
Glad I purchased the audiobook so I can re-listen to essays when I need to be reminded of my/our worth, my/our abundance, my/our resilience.
Because of this anthology, I have started journaling about my personal shame and the ways I have contributed to shaming others, even in my silence. I’m moved and inspired by Kiese Laymon writing odes and apologies to people he disrespected and harmed and to body parts he neglected.
Glad I purchased the audiobook so I can re-listen to essays when I need to be reminded of my/our worth, my/our abundance, my/our resilience.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was a breath of fresh air. It was hard-hitting and gentle. Seeing how each contributor connected with vulnerability, shame, and Brené Brown's research made the reading experience nuanced and meaningful. I look forward to more work being done in this vein.
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Mental conditions are for humans, and since when have white folks let us be that? - Yolo Akili Robinson
As a white person, try as I may, I am often still blind to my own biases. So it never once occurred to me that hey, my favorite author (Brené Brown) probably isn’t entirely relatable to my non white friends. Her lived experience as a human who encounters shame is, but the facets through which she encounters it are often not.
This book is not meant for me, so of course I’m not going to glean the same “me too” emotional connection. But it is still so so powerful. The stories shared within it are heart breaking because they’re so vulnerable and true. It is authentically human, and that is what gives these stories power.
The people we’re defending and the lives we are affirming are more important than our social comfort. - Marc Lamont Hill
Yes. Yes to all of this. Yes to these wholehearted collaborations between brilliant humans. Yes to the bravery to stand as you are.
Thank you to all of the essayists for sharing.
As a white person, try as I may, I am often still blind to my own biases. So it never once occurred to me that hey, my favorite author (Brené Brown) probably isn’t entirely relatable to my non white friends. Her lived experience as a human who encounters shame is, but the facets through which she encounters it are often not.
This book is not meant for me, so of course I’m not going to glean the same “me too” emotional connection. But it is still so so powerful. The stories shared within it are heart breaking because they’re so vulnerable and true. It is authentically human, and that is what gives these stories power.
The people we’re defending and the lives we are affirming are more important than our social comfort. - Marc Lamont Hill
Yes. Yes to all of this. Yes to these wholehearted collaborations between brilliant humans. Yes to the bravery to stand as you are.
Thank you to all of the essayists for sharing.