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A review by reading_rainbow_with_chris
Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana Burke
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
“Unbound” by Tarana Burke
CW: This book contains depictions of sexual assault, domestic violence, gaslighting, coercion, and gun violence.
Before Alyssa Milano’s #metoo tweet spread like wildfire around the internet in 2017, Black activist and sexual assault survivor Tarana Burke had been doing the work. Raised in a complicated family dynamic and facing early traumas, Burke found her footing in youth leadership and programming only to discover that at every turn children, especially young Black girls, faced similar traumas without support. This book at first feels like it’s going to be the history of the #metoo movement before Milano, before its internet popularity. And to some degree it is. But really this is Burke’s story, the necessary articulation of Burke’s experience as a Black woman which gave her drive to start the movement. Burke writes in a voice that is direct, unflinching, and doesn’t waste time with the elaborate or the elegant. From a literary aesthetics perspective, I sometimes found myself wishing for different language choices or a more consistent theme of metaphors/similes. But this book still has the intended impact and then some, charging readers with a sense of responsibility to extend the work of #metoo without forgetting its roots. There is a lot to consider not only about how we address sexual assault as a culture but also the way we (fail to) acknowledge the work of Black women who are so often ahead of the curve on advocacy.
CW: This book contains depictions of sexual assault, domestic violence, gaslighting, coercion, and gun violence.
Before Alyssa Milano’s #metoo tweet spread like wildfire around the internet in 2017, Black activist and sexual assault survivor Tarana Burke had been doing the work. Raised in a complicated family dynamic and facing early traumas, Burke found her footing in youth leadership and programming only to discover that at every turn children, especially young Black girls, faced similar traumas without support. This book at first feels like it’s going to be the history of the #metoo movement before Milano, before its internet popularity. And to some degree it is. But really this is Burke’s story, the necessary articulation of Burke’s experience as a Black woman which gave her drive to start the movement. Burke writes in a voice that is direct, unflinching, and doesn’t waste time with the elaborate or the elegant. From a literary aesthetics perspective, I sometimes found myself wishing for different language choices or a more consistent theme of metaphors/similes. But this book still has the intended impact and then some, charging readers with a sense of responsibility to extend the work of #metoo without forgetting its roots. There is a lot to consider not only about how we address sexual assault as a culture but also the way we (fail to) acknowledge the work of Black women who are so often ahead of the curve on advocacy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, and Emotional abuse