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biancarogers's reviews
903 reviews
Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families by Judith Giesberg
4.0
In Last Seen, Judith Ann Giesberg explores the heart-wrenching reality of families torn apart by slavery, using newspaper ads placed by formerly enslaved individuals who sought to reconnect with lost loved ones. Drawing from over 4,000 ads, Giesberg created the Last Seen digital archive, highlighting ten poignant narratives that delve into the personal anguish of these searches and the broader context of a nation grappling with its past.
Her work reflects the depth of scholarship and infuses a profound empathy, allowing the historical voices to resonate powerfully. The stories include elderly parents searching for children sold years prior, others longing for barely remembered relatives, and spouses who faced the harsh realities of separation. Through these narratives, Giesberg sheds light on a painful yet crucial aspect of history, ensuring that the experiences of nearly one million enslaved children at the time of the Civil War are remembered and honored.
Her work reflects the depth of scholarship and infuses a profound empathy, allowing the historical voices to resonate powerfully. The stories include elderly parents searching for children sold years prior, others longing for barely remembered relatives, and spouses who faced the harsh realities of separation. Through these narratives, Giesberg sheds light on a painful yet crucial aspect of history, ensuring that the experiences of nearly one million enslaved children at the time of the Civil War are remembered and honored.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
The audiobook, narrated by El Akkad himself, deepens the experience, his voice carrying the perfect mix of urgency and authenticity. This isn't a book designed for comfort, but for those willing to engage, it’s a transformative reckoning. Rather than offering easy answers, El Akkad delivers something far more valuable: a necessary, exquisitely crafted confrontation.
10/10—an absolute must-read.
5.0
Omar El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This delivers a searing, compact dose of insight. More than a critique of Western imperialism, it’s a raw and urgent meditation on collective grief as a catalyst for action. El Akkad’s prose strikes a rare balance—poetic yet unflinching, beautiful yet unrelenting—forcing readers to reckon with systems that erase the "other."
The audiobook, narrated by El Akkad himself, deepens the experience, his voice carrying the perfect mix of urgency and authenticity. This isn't a book designed for comfort, but for those willing to engage, it’s a transformative reckoning. Rather than offering easy answers, El Akkad delivers something far more valuable: a necessary, exquisitely crafted confrontation.
10/10—an absolute must-read.
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
5.0
Kiese Laymon’s Heavy lives up to its title, delivering a memoir that is as weighty in substance as it is in meaning. Using his own body as a potent metaphor, Laymon explores racial trauma, generational oppression, and the burden of unspoken truths. While the book follows a traditional memoir structure, it resists the expected arc of triumph over adversity, exposing how struggle often begets shame and failure. His intellect and mastery of language don’t offer escape; they sharpen his awareness of pain. In the background, a more conventional, palatable version of this story waits to be told—one that Laymon refuses in favor of unflinching honesty.
With devastating sincerity, Heavy forces readers to confront the brutal realities of American racial dynamics, revealing how love and cruelty become tragically entangled—from the harsh discipline Black parents enforce for survival to the abuse endured in the pursuit of belonging. This is more than a memoir; it’s a raw reckoning with self and society, an indictment of injustice that doesn’t just challenge complacency—it dismantles it.
With devastating sincerity, Heavy forces readers to confront the brutal realities of American racial dynamics, revealing how love and cruelty become tragically entangled—from the harsh discipline Black parents enforce for survival to the abuse endured in the pursuit of belonging. This is more than a memoir; it’s a raw reckoning with self and society, an indictment of injustice that doesn’t just challenge complacency—it dismantles it.