For the day four challenge I'm going with a book that you wouldn't initially think would be a good example of the sign of the times, but it fits the bill in so many ways and here's why!
Gabrielle Union doesn't hold anything back in this memoir and hearing her experiences in her own voice makes her story even more engaging. I knew very little about Gabrielle's personal life before listening to We're Going to Need More Wine, and she is definitely a woman to admire. She embraces her weaknesses and her strengths and is unapologetic in her honesty. Union addresses sexual assault and how it impacted her into her adulthood and relationships. She addresses the idea of competition and identity as well as what it takes to survive in the entertainment industry as an African American woman.
She looks at body image, sexuality, and the notion that if you don't even know your own body, how can you expect to have positive body image or derive any real pleasure from it? Union goes on to tackle what it means to be a successful woman both professionally and personally in American society today. The most surprising aspect of Union's memoir for me is her approach to parenting. She discusses the need to drop 'black bombs' on her step sons for their own safety. Although I am not the mother of boys, I am the mother of two young black women and the way she addresses the need for her boys to behave differently than their white friends in many situations is exceptionally relatable.
Union delivered so much more than I expected in this honest and forthcoming memoir and with everything that is happening in American society today much of it is reflected in this memoir. It's one that I would recommend to any reader over 18. We're Going To Need More Wine was one of my favorite reads of 2017 for all of the reasons above. If you are interested in reading this one, I highly recommend getting this on audio. Gabrielle Union narrating feels like listening to a friend talk about things that I can relate to personally. I'm posting a video of Union doing a discussion on her book and it's awesome, check it out!
Amazon Book Link
In the spirit of Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl, and Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist, a powerful collection of essays about gender, sexuality, race, beauty, Hollywood, and what it means to be a modern woman.
One month before the release of the highly anticipated film The Birth of a Nation, actress Gabrielle Union shook the world with a vulnerable and impassioned editorial in which she urged our society to have compassion for victims of sexual violence. In the wake of rape allegations made against director and actor Nate Parker, Union—a forty-four-year-old actress who launched her career with roles in iconic ’90s movies—instantly became the insightful, outspoken actress that Hollywood has been desperately awaiting. With honesty and heartbreaking wisdom, she revealed her own trauma as a victim of sexual assault: "It is for you that I am speaking. This is real. We are real."
In this moving collection of thought provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom and deep humor, Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards, and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents. Genuine and perceptive, Union bravely lays herself bare, uncovering a complex and courageous life of self-doubt and self-discovery with incredible poise and brutal honesty. Throughout, she compels us to be ethical and empathetic, and reminds us of the importance of confidence, self-awareness, and the power of sharing truth, laughter, and support.
Gabrielle Union doesn't hold anything back in this memoir and hearing her experiences in her own voice makes her story even more engaging. I knew very little about Gabrielle's personal life before listening to We're Going to Need More Wine, and she is definitely a woman to admire. She embraces her weaknesses and her strengths and is unapologetic in her honesty. Union addresses sexual assault and how it impacted her into her adulthood and relationships. She addresses the idea of competition and identity as well as what it takes to survive in the entertainment industry as an African American woman.
She looks at body image, sexuality, and the notion that if you don't even know your own body, how can you expect to have positive body image or derive any real pleasure from it? Union goes on to tackle what it means to be a successful woman both professionally and personally in American society today. The most surprising aspect of Union's memoir for me is her approach to parenting. She discusses the need to drop 'black bombs' on her step sons for their own safety. Although I am not the mother of boys, I am the mother of two young black women and the way she addresses the need for her boys to behave differently than their white friends in many situations is exceptionally relatable.
Union delivered so much more than I expected in this honest and forthcoming memoir and with everything that is happening in American society today much of it is reflected in this memoir. It's one that I would recommend to any reader over 18. We're Going To Need More Wine was one of my favorite reads of 2017 for all of the reasons above. If you are interested in reading this one, I highly recommend getting this on audio. Gabrielle Union narrating feels like listening to a friend talk about things that I can relate to personally. I'm posting a video of Union doing a discussion on her book and it's awesome, check it out!
Amazon Book Link
In the spirit of Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl, and Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist, a powerful collection of essays about gender, sexuality, race, beauty, Hollywood, and what it means to be a modern woman.
One month before the release of the highly anticipated film The Birth of a Nation, actress Gabrielle Union shook the world with a vulnerable and impassioned editorial in which she urged our society to have compassion for victims of sexual violence. In the wake of rape allegations made against director and actor Nate Parker, Union—a forty-four-year-old actress who launched her career with roles in iconic ’90s movies—instantly became the insightful, outspoken actress that Hollywood has been desperately awaiting. With honesty and heartbreaking wisdom, she revealed her own trauma as a victim of sexual assault: "It is for you that I am speaking. This is real. We are real."
In this moving collection of thought provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom and deep humor, Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards, and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents. Genuine and perceptive, Union bravely lays herself bare, uncovering a complex and courageous life of self-doubt and self-discovery with incredible poise and brutal honesty. Throughout, she compels us to be ethical and empathetic, and reminds us of the importance of confidence, self-awareness, and the power of sharing truth, laughter, and support.
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