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Breathe
Breathe: A Letter to My Sons | Imani Perry
19 posts | 7 read | 8 to read
Explores the terror, grace, and beauty of coming of age as a Black person in contemporary America and what it means to parent our children in a persistently unjust world. Emotionally raw and deeply reflective, Imani Perry issues an unflinching challenge to society to see Black children as deserving of humanity. She admits fear and frustration for her African American sons in a society that is increasingly racist and at times seems irredeemable. However, as a mother, feminist, writer, and intellectual, Perry offers an unfettered expression of love--finding beauty and possibility in life--and she exhorts her children and their peers to find the courage to chart their own paths and find steady footing and inspiration in Black tradition. Perry draws upon the ideas of figures such as James Baldwin, W. E. B. DuBois, Emily Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Ida B. Wells. She shares vulnerabilities and insight from her own life and from encounters in places as varied as the West Side of Chicago; Birmingham, Alabama; and New England prep schools. Breathe offers a broader meditation on race, gender, and the meaning of a life well lived and is also an unforgettable lesson in Black resistance and resilience.
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Christine
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Wow. This was really excellent. I love her voice and how she shifts back and forth between joy and stark truths and motherly care and historical context and self-reflection, over and over, sometimes abruptly but it always feel right. Plus she loves books and this line she wrote is great: “Reading is trying to understand the world around us with the belief that it is possible to make it sweeter and better.“ ❤️

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MsLeah8417
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September 2020 Wrap Up

JamieArc I love Danticat ❤️ 3y
MsLeah8417 @JamieArc : Me, too!🖤 3y
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MsLeah8417

I know prayers don‘t prevent tragedy; they hold you up as you pass through it. Sometimes.

Nute Yes! 4y
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megnews
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Pickpick

Equal parts honest and hopeful. A very special letter from a mother to her sons.

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PMMREADS
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Pickpick

This book 📖 was so good. I heard about this book on the podcast The Stacks; at the end of this month writer Kiese Laymon and one of the host from the podcast will discuss this book. This book was short but deep and meaningful. I can‘t wait to hear the thoughts and conversation on this book on The Stacks podcast. Check this book out 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Five stars.

diovival I've missed so much! 😮 4y
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megnews
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After the death of George Floyd, my beautiful, talented son said “my heart races when police are around and I wonder when it will be me.”

This book, written from another mother‘s heart as a letter to her sons, is heartbreaking so I‘m having to read it in little bites. Recommend it for #BlackOutBestsellerList this week.

#BlackLivesMatter

Butterfinger 😢 No child should feel this way. It should not be such a horrid truth. I told my family I have decided if I ever see a cop stopping or arresting a person of color, I will not be passive. I will make sure they are treated with respect by standing there. I will stop my car. I'm done with this abuse of power. 4y
megnews @Butterfinger that‘s a great plan and one I‘m planning to do too. 4y
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I haven‘t been reading much the past 2 weeks. I don‘t want to say I‘ve been having trouble reading. My focus has been watching this generation rise up. So many troubling things. Some good starting to unfold. I‘ve had this mother‘s memoir in the form of a letter to her sons on my tbr for a bit and now seems a great time to read it. So much 💔. I hope the next generation can grow up in a better world.

Freespirit I am also hoping for a fairer world💕 4y
AmyG I‘m with you. I just had a grandson and I hope the world is a better place for him. 4y
kspenmoll Last night Anderson Cooper interviewed Cornel West and he was in his own unique way, talking of the response of George Llioyd‘s family & funeral service that emphasized the spirit of love that Black churches, people have responded with for centuries- I cannot really capture West‘s compelling words here but it was moving- time for change. 4y
megnews @kspenmoll I didn‘t know about that. Thanks for letting me know. I want to check it out. 4y
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amma-keep-reading
Pickpick

I enjoy this new trend of letters to children.

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MEGR
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“And when you emerge, you will understand it is not what you are called but what you answer to. That is your name.”

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MEGR
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“To create, and be brought to one‘s knees by creation. That is at the height of being human.”

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MEGR
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“The fact is I don‘t want to fit in at all. I want to continue the strangeness that allows me to discover myself and others.”

crazyspine So pretty 4y
MEGR @crazyspine thank you! It is gorgeous weather here! 4y
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MEGR
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“The truth is, I am indecisive. I want to fall down deep, sparkling, and warmly lit rabbit holes of all sorts. They call this ‘interdisciplinary‘ in my line of work. Sometimes it verges on dilettantism. But more than anything, it is passion. I live for the life of the mind and of the heart.”

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MEGR
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Next reads all lined up 📚🥳