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A review by amr316
How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community by Mia Birdsong
4.0
Rounded up from 3.5 stars. This book was at its best when offering concrete ideas for building community and social cohesion. I especially enjoyed the author’s description of “drop-by dinners” and the importance of asking for help in strengthening social bonds.
Near the end, though, the author’s descriptions of various leftist political groups in Oakland grew repetitive. It felt less concretely applicable and more of a demonstration of how involved in progressive politics the author is. Outside this very narrow set of Oakland social justice folks, the author doesn’t really provide case studies of community-building, and the result was a book that felt exhaustingly insular and claustrophobic by the end.
Nevertheless, four stars for an interesting premise that’s given me a lot to think about.
Near the end, though, the author’s descriptions of various leftist political groups in Oakland grew repetitive. It felt less concretely applicable and more of a demonstration of how involved in progressive politics the author is. Outside this very narrow set of Oakland social justice folks, the author doesn’t really provide case studies of community-building, and the result was a book that felt exhaustingly insular and claustrophobic by the end.
Nevertheless, four stars for an interesting premise that’s given me a lot to think about.