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deairrun 's review for:
You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience
by Tarana Burke, Brené Brown
I don’t know what I expected when I bought this book but it gave me so much that I expected. The book is a collection of essays by black authors. Each author took me driving through their neighborhood and somehow ended up at my door everytime. Brene Brown was a editior so the discussion of vulnerability and shame was profuse. The authors explained how some of our survival strategies and societial norms resulted in them putting on armor every day that block vulnerability and reinforce shame. One by one the authors pull back the veil of their lives and model black vulnerability. They masterfully tell of experiences that led them to internalize messages of shame. Racism is described as a shame dealer that unfortunately gets us hooked. In this collection, the authors use some colorful language so this book is for grown folks. I read essay after essay thinking about the lessons life has taught me about being emotionally expressive and how some white societal norms taught me to squench my blackness. I thought about moment after moment where I had to decided to live in align with how God had wired me. My mind went back to moments where my racial authenticity repelled others. Reading this book I felt seen and heard. I was left with a number of nuggets I will be chewing on for a long time.
However, one critique of the book is there are very few black male authors in this book. Maybe the purpose was to center individuals who were not black males. It made me curious it is just rare for black men to write about vulnerability and shame. Have we not cultivated a space to see black men in roles other than the great athlete, actor, acedmic etc? Or is it too scary to show people what lies behind the veil of black men? Is the public ready for black men to show their humanity?
I give this book a 4.5/5. One of my reasoning for the lower score is probably my preference. I think the book could have been a bit more practical and the essays could have flowed a little better together. Despite its limitations it is still a wonderful book.
However, one critique of the book is there are very few black male authors in this book. Maybe the purpose was to center individuals who were not black males. It made me curious it is just rare for black men to write about vulnerability and shame. Have we not cultivated a space to see black men in roles other than the great athlete, actor, acedmic etc? Or is it too scary to show people what lies behind the veil of black men? Is the public ready for black men to show their humanity?
I give this book a 4.5/5. One of my reasoning for the lower score is probably my preference. I think the book could have been a bit more practical and the essays could have flowed a little better together. Despite its limitations it is still a wonderful book.