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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Rebecca Carroll was raised in overwhelming white, rural New Hampshire by white adoptive parents, and didn't see another black person until she was six years old. Far from insulating her from the concept of race or racism, Carroll's upbringing was lonely, isolated, and confusing. Carroll's joyful discovery of black friends and a black political identity in her teens and twenties is experienced by her white family as a rejection, but from her own point of view, it feels like coming home. What comes across most strongly, achingly, though the book is how cruel it is to raise a child with a marginalized identity completely cut off from anyone else from that group, anyone who can understand and guide her through her experiences.
I read this after hearing Carroll discuss it on an episode of Danny Lavery's podcast, where I found her reflections on gratitude toward family especially interesting - especially the insidiously racist ways that well-meaning transracial adoption often plays out (with white parents on some level expecting eternal gratitude from their children of color because of the unexamined white supremacist belief that a child raised in a white family is better off than she would be if she had been raised in a family of color). I would have liked to see more of that type of essay-style reflection in the book; though maybe I just need remedial hand-holding, as Carroll's experiences implicitly illustrate many of these points, and she writes movingly and thoughtfully about them.
I read this after hearing Carroll discuss it on an episode of Danny Lavery's podcast, where I found her reflections on gratitude toward family especially interesting - especially the insidiously racist ways that well-meaning transracial adoption often plays out (with white parents on some level expecting eternal gratitude from their children of color because of the unexamined white supremacist belief that a child raised in a white family is better off than she would be if she had been raised in a family of color). I would have liked to see more of that type of essay-style reflection in the book; though maybe I just need remedial hand-holding, as Carroll's experiences implicitly illustrate many of these points, and she writes movingly and thoughtfully about them.
read this book in 24 hours. what a gift. cannot recommend enough.
Blown away, read it now. Essential insight and authenticity. Thank you Rebecca.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This is an excellent memoir! As a white lady who grew up with in a very white town with few black people, I felt that this gave me some insight into how confusing an experience that would be for those black people. It is also a perfect takedown of the entire concept of "colorblindness" when it comes to race. I admire the author for being so honest and vulnerable in sharing her life story.
challenging
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
This is a long, dull book basically about how much Rebecca Carroll dislikes white people.
Carroll's crisp sentences pack deep spoonfuls of setting and meaning in short, poignant punches. She shares her story in snapshots that fall perfectly one after another; the book is one long rope of complicated self discovery and identity formation. In giving us this portfolio of memories, Carroll gifts white folks like myself an individual glimpse of how it feels to grow up as a Black person in America surrounded by whiteness. I am thankful for the opportunity to listen.
reflective
fast-paced