Ratings16
Average rating4.3
Nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Root
Chosen by Emma Straub as a Best New Celebrity Memoir
“A book of essays as raw and honest as anyone has ever produced.” — Lena Dunham, Lenny Letter
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
Totally enjoyable start to finish. Her reading of her essays was tone perfect, just like a good friend over a glass of wine. She's honest, hilarious, and reflective, doesn't let herself or her subjects off the hook, and gices great and empowering advice to readers. One of the best essay/memoirs I've read.
She spoke to the nuances of my life.
I loved this memoir!!! Will reread and take my time with her words.
What an absolutely wonderful way to spend my work day. You want a great read from someone who tells it like it is? This is it. Gabrielle Union doesn't play around. She speaks from the heart, with intention and truth. There is so much more here than just another celebrity memoir and I definitely recommend snagging this one.
P.S. When I say she tells it like it is...expect no hold backs. She's real. She's powerful and she uses some “colorful” language to accentuate her points.