ian_ 's review for:

Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope by Jasmine L. Holmes

5.0

---

I'm grateful to God that I encountered this book when I did, and grateful to Jasmine Holmes for writing it. This was an edifying and Christ-exalting read. Holmes's book is powerful, honest, heart-stirring (I hadn't finished the first chapter and I was already getting choked up), and thought-provoking. In many ways Holmes's stories felt very relatable to me. I often felt like the author and I had a lot in common. Of course, there were many ways in which her stories were not relatable, and that is what made this book challenging and convicting. Jasmine Holmes is incredibly thoughtful. The gospel of Christ is central to everything she is about. In light of this shared faith, she presents a message to her son and to her readers that the world is more complex and scary than some people are comfortable admitting, and it is important that we view people not according to the neat ideological boxes we try to fit them in, but rather see them as equally complex people who are made in the image of God. I appreciate the biblical wisdom she employs in her exploration of what it means to be Black in America, and how we can seek justice in a way that honors God and shows his gracious love to everyone.