Welcome to Litsy!

This book is on sale on kindle in the US today. I originally listened to it on audiobook from the library, but picked up the ebook copy for myself anyway today....because I know I‘m going to want to revisit this one at a later date.

I‘ve read a bunch of “Celebrity” memoirs & this one was so deep and insightful on many topics from assault, to race, & gender, I‘m forever disappointed it didn‘t garner the accolades I think it rightfully deserved.

My top 5 books of the decade (by genre) -- Memoir

Finished this tonight. This might be the most educational & deep thinking celebrity memoir ever. I knew Union was raped by a stranger but didn‘t know the story. I was very interested in her views about race& her concern about her step-children. It was touching to know about her struggle with fertility. I didn‘t think some of the sex stories were necessary-I feel like celebrities overshare about sex. Very good on audio.

I have Educated on audio & have listened to about 2 hours. But when I was cooking last night, I really wanted to start the tagged. I‘ve been on hold for weeks & don‘t think I‘ll get this one & Educated done in the time limit. I decided I‘d rather read the physical copy of Educated so will go back to it later when library hold comes in. It‘s interesting to hear about Union‘s experiences growing up in a mostly white school.

This is everything!!!!

I'm so glad I listened to this, because the experiences in this book are what I need to digest, as I make concerted efforts to educate myself on diversity and inclusion.

A little #audiocooking this morning. 🌶🥕🍅🔪📚

Fascinating read. Funny, Inspirational and real.

Gabrielle Union‘s book is less of a memoir, and more a collection of essays that are honest, smart, funny, and real. I prefer essays over a memoir, and I 💜 this book. Topics she talks about include sexual assault and rape, her “black bomb” discussions with her family, racism, and infertility. She is candid and thoughtful, and makes some powerful observations.

#nonfiction2019 written by a POC. 8 prompts to go & I currently have BINGO 3 ways!

1. 🎧 book
2. Girl‘s night out at a wine bar tonight, hosting a few of Maya‘s friends at the pool tomorrow, hiking in Grayson Highlands Sunday, possibly hosting Dorian evacuees Sun/Monday.
3. Ben & Jerry‘s Chubby Hubby
4. Flute
5. 👍👍

#friyayintro

“Here‘s to us being afraid, and doing it anyway.”
(A paraphrase of a Carrie Fisher quote)

I think this one is going to be much better than my last audiobook!

#summersendreadathon

This book was so moving, I couldn't recommend it enough. I appreciate Gabrielle's raw honesty in her autobiography. She gave serious reflection on her life and admitted to all her mistakes, but also spoke up on how her industry and society has failed her for being a black woman. Her account of when she was raped and the strength it took from being a victim to a survivor was powerful.She has given me so much to think about in how to support others.

Without a doubt the most beautiful place I've ever run. No audiobook, I wanted to focus on being present. Got up at 4 AM to head up to Hopi Point and watch the stars (4 shooting stars included), dawn, and sunrise. Then at 6:20 AM I started my run down the trail!
#BFC check-in: got my 4 runs in this week and finished one book (tagged). Good week. 👍😊 #BFCr3 #BookFitnessChallenge #bookdragons @Hestapleton @wanderinglynn

While walking home from work today saw that my neighborhood popup library was finished being built! This little cutie is our tiny library until the original one is finished with renovations next year. I predict a lot of side tracking on my home in the future....😍

I squeezed in a road and trail run this morning before our long day of driving (expecting about 11 hours on the road, we're about 5 hours in). Definitely worth waking up at 5:30 to reach the top of my run (Goat Rock) right at sunrise! 😍 Not worried about my slowpoke time since it was straight up a mountain for half of it. #BFCr3 first of my 4 runs this week! #BookFitnessChallenge #BFC #bookdragons

Gabrielle Union-Wade was my 1st girl crush In this book she was Nikki. In this book she was your best friend. In this book her love of reading was obvious because it read like a novel.
She didn't need to be this transparent yet her deciding to risk her privacy is commendable and y'all better not flake it up so she can write again.

I did it y'all! 🎉🏃‍♀️💪 After that stomach bug and then Vacation Bible School, I wasn't sure how I'd do, but I only walked twice and finished my 5K race in under 38 min! Loved meeting up with my dad (who beat 25 min) afterward! I listened to the tagged book while I ran - Gabrielle Union is good company! #BookFitnessChallenge #BFC #BFCr2 #BookNerdHerd @wanderinglynn @Crazeedi @BarbaraJean @mhillis @rsteve388 @kindergartenkat @Erin7 @jb72

#nonfiction2019
Audio book on the way to Minneapolis this week.
I kind of spacthat do out during some of it. I realize blacks have a hard life, but I felt like she was just complaining about it so much.

#ReadingWomenMonth Bingo update 2: This week I've finished:
A Woman Is No Man - Muslim Author
An Extraordinary Union - Romance Novel
If They Come For Us - Borrowed Book (from library)
Co-Creating: A Feminist Vision of Ministry - On Feminism
And I'm working on the yellow underlined ones.

Any recs for kiddie lit by a woman available on #Hoopla?

Oh yeah, finished this 🎧 while I was trying to go to sleep. Jet leg sucks! But at least you get to read a lot. Anyway, I‘d give this one 3, maybe 3.5 ⭐️. I do feel like I know Union a bit better now, and her attitude about the world, which I mostly enjoyed. But I do think you can see the results of having bad experiences & blaming herself for them throughout the book, which is too bad. She is hilarious at times and always extremely real.

Beautiful morning to hike up a mountain and back down with Gabrielle Union for company. 👍 Having her in my ear made it feel like a 2 hour 15 minute hike with a good friend, telling me stories about her life that made me laugh and tear up. #audiohike #audiowalk #BookFitnessChallenge #BFC @wanderinglynn (This is Morrow Mountain State Park in North Carolina.)

Listened to so much of this on the plane, sadly slept through some. But I own it on Libro, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can listen again. It is ... well. It‘s definitely honest, refreshing and surprising in equal measure. I do think Union makes herself out to be ignorant or dumb in many circumstances that were simply uncomfortable (or far worse). Half an hour to go!

I am one of those people that only know Union from Bring It!

Wow, she sure has way more on her resume in front and behind the camera.

#booked2019 #drinkcover

@BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft @Cinfhen

Just finished Dinosaur Artist & started this #audiobook! I‘ve been wanting to read it for a while. #GabrielleUnion #memoir

#Booked2019 Spring quarter update: 4 down, 2 to go!

Easily the best celebrity memior I have ever read (upsurping BossyPants). Union was real, authentic, raw, funny, poignant, and relateable. So many times I said outloud, "Same, girl" or " yes!". It was really like having drinks with a best girlfriend. And Union has a potty mouth I can appreciate.

#pop19 A book with an item of clothing on the table
She is wearing clothes, so it counts, right?

Loved. Union covers so much ground. I knew little about her and am now a huge fan. She covers racism, being black in a white space, sex positivity, the interplay between wealth, race, and celebrity (and how money/fame doesn‘t overcome ppl‘s prejudices), parenthood, infertility, and does it all with grace, humor, and authenticity. Highly recommend the audio. This was a complete #blameitonlitsy and I am so happy to have discovered it.

I listened to the audio, which was awesome because Union read it. It covers some tough topics and made me realize I don't actually know much about her. She's starred in some movies I love, but I haven't really followed her or her career. This was a nice way to get some info and see things from a different perspective.

#BookishBingo: Memoir by a woman of color

This book is so real and honest about what it‘s like being a woman and being black in our society. Some stories were very relatable to me, while others I could only have guessed at before. The sections about raising black boys in our world, such a necessary discussion we need to be having! I wish it had gotten the press and “must read” hype about seeing how another section of our society lives that something like “Hillbilly Elegy” did. (Cont.)

I‘m only familiar with her work in Bring It On & 10 Things I Hate About You, so I picked this up on a whim and I was delightfully rapt! She‘s a very smart, capable woman with a painfully relatable history. I especially loved what she wrote about racism: how she raises black boys with her husband, and noting how different living in a very white part of CA was from spending summers with family in Omaha. I‘d love to split a bottle of wine with her!

Starting this today - full disclosure, I adore her (& actually work for the Corp office of NY & Company who fund her fashion line).

Awesome read. Pretty sure I could finish this today and then, once again, continue with the other and hope I'll finish it by the end of the month 😆

Great memoir! Made me actually lol on several occasions as I listened to the audiobook! She‘s a great storyteller!

I enjoyed listening to this one. I find some of her life experiences very enlightening. All the things I want to talk about are spoilers, so go read this so I can talk to someone. 😂🤓

Gabrielle Union reads this herself and it was interesting #PBNread2019

It was fine

I was not even that familiar with Gabrielle Union as an actor, but I saw her interview for this book on The Daily Show and her honesty intrigued me. She writes about serious issues candidly. She also made me laugh out loud a lot. She has helpful advice for sexually active teens, rape survivors, and speaks the truth about the life or death consequences of racial prejudice. She came across as very real.

I've been wanting to read this, and it fits the #PBNread2019 challenge. I really might finish the challenge before the end of January.

This was so much better than I was expecting! It was so honest. I kept finding myself blown away by how openly she could speak about all aspects of her life. This was not a glossy, greatest hits version. This was real. And because of that, completely engrossing. Definitely recommend! #24in48

I‘m listening to this audiobook today for #24in48 and so far I‘m enjoying it! 🍷📚

After 2 days in the single digits it finally warmed up but it rained all day ☔️ #treadmillagain #litsywalkers #currentlyreading #audiobook

Entertaining through this cold day! There were definitely some gems mixed in with these stories/essays.

Gabrielle “Nickie” Union is a funny, articulate, insightful, passionate role model for all women💪🏼I enjoyed her candid approach to fame, fortune and family. She‘s a great storyteller and I enjoyed my time with her. Some essays felt a little repetitive and I think an hour could have been pared down but overall this was a definite pick🍷I switched between #audio and my #EBook #Hoopla #NonFiction2019

Absolutely loving this memoir😊Gabrielle Union is a potty mouth and great story teller.

#MusicalNewYear I took #MyShot and decided to join the #LitsyWalkers and grab a walk before the clouds roll in. Also started a new #audio 🎧 Today‘s walk included the post office , pharmacy & some cool street art. #BookMail on the way @Kalalalatja @Slajaunie 📚💚

My first read of 2019! Which is both NF AND by a person of color. My goal is for each of those categories to make up 20% of my reading this year, so I‘m off to a good start. I‘m also hoping to remember to do review posts for all the books I read this year! #howjessreadsin2019

I loved this book. I've always had admiration for Gabrielle Union and her openness about her own struggles with fertility, rape, being black in entertainment, and so much more. But this book made me fall in love even more. Funny, raw, inspiring, thought provoking and parts that made me laugh and pause to tear up. I wanted to sit across a plate of pasta with wine close by and talk to her all night.

This really hit home for me in some ways. I grew up in a family where talking behind each other's back but pretending to do it out of concern was the norm. When I grew up and got my own group of amazing girlfriends, I realized you call the ones you love on their shit and it's not normal to bad mouth others and pretend you care about them.

👏👏👏👏