Download PDF What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker A Memoir in Essays edition by Damon Young Literature Fiction eBooks

Product details File Size 1464 KB Print Length 310 pages Page Numbers Source ISBN 0062684302 Publisher Ecco (March 26, 2019) Publication Date March 26, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07BDGPNS7

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker A Memoir in Essays edition by Damon Young Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

• Perhaps because I'm a woman, and thus have experienced the relentless anxiety caused by the need for constant social vigilance, worries about appearance, the pressure to be subordinate, and pathways blocked merely because you are who you are. So many touching, funny, and ruthlessly honest episodes that resonate even if one is not black and thus unable to feel the full spectrum of their intensity. For example, I, too, remember feeling exultant about Obama's election (twice!), and terrified that he might he assassinated. And this particularly tasty tidbit describing our current president* as "the world's rapiest tub of Cheez Whiz" still makes me laugh through the bitterness and dismay.
• Raised in Penn Hills by educators, I’ve always known we must support our local authors. Having been introduced to Mr. Young in Friday’s NYTimes (he gives good interview), I received his memoir today. After a single chapter, East Liberty Kutz, be assured this man can write. I’d swear this was a work of fiction if it didn’t ring so true. Now ordering 2 more copies for my brother and sister and another for the library @ Linton.
• Step back from the topics, which range from basketball to haircuts to Kool-aid and white. Endless whiteness. So, ok, step back from that and meet a brilliant and funny and insightful and exquisitely honest writer. Then after you’ve read this, and bought copies for 5 or 8 of your friends, re-read it, cuz you’ll find lots of new treasures.
• Damon Young is one of America's star bloggers with his Very Smart Brothas, which Young co-edits with Panama Jackson. Their blog is now housed over at the Root, if you want to check out their insightful and frequently hilarious observations of life in America while Black. Young's memoir, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker, is hilarious in spots but the bulk of the book is a serious reflection on Young's life. For a white person, this book is a must read but I warn you it is not for the faint of heart or for anyone who suffers from white fragility. Young is an excellent "spiritual" guide if you view racial reconciliation work as spiritual warfare, which I do. Nun Katherine Weston, a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Brotherhood of St. Moses, speaks of the courage it takes to embark on such a spiritual fight. Mr. Young possesses enormous courage and his readers will need courage as well to finish this book. One of the major teachings of Jesus is the importance of bearing witness and that is what I would encourage all white readers of Mr. Young's memoir to do--bear witness. Listen. Don't get defensive, don't argue, don't stop reading. Bear witness. Young's writings remind me of another powerful Black writer who recently passed away--Professor Julius Lester. Lester was a freedom rider in the Civil Rights movement and he used his remarkable talents both as a blues musician and a writer to bare his soul as Young does. Lester's first book was Look Out, Whitey! Black Power’s Gonna’ Get Your Mama. Lester's early writings are as brutally honest and emotionally charged as Young's are today. Lester, as he aged, grew in his faith and tempered his observations with the wisdom of a spiritual leader. My hope is that Mr. Young continues his fine writing and never loses his sense of humor or his sense of outrage. Lastly, my sincerest hope is that Mr. Young can age as Julius Lester did and never lose hope. Please read this book with an open strong heart and listen carefully to the price of 400 years of oppression on a good man's soul.
• A thoughtful look at what it means to be a black man in Pittsburgh and in America. Surprisingly I related to much of his experience as my own as a man living in this city despite me coming from a privileged upbringing. There are pieces here that are humorous and others marked by poignancy.
• I'm one of those white progressives and I found this book to be great. It is deeply insightful on manhood with which I relate easily and then provides perspective on the experience of being black in white spaces. I am a school counselor and the majority of my students are of color and I think every educator should read this book. I strongly recommend this book.
• This book has given me so many emotions that it is hard to capture all of them. Nevertheless, the most reassuring feeling was joy. I had joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart to stay because this reads so well, challenged me and my outlook on some things, and best of all felt like the things I’ve felt and thought like the things I’ve thought. Damon is an incredible writer, I have loved his work on Very Smart Brothas for a little over two years, and am so happy I pre-ordered this book. It will definitely make you feel something, as any good book should, and I hope it is the relatable joy I felt. Or at least make you want to have someone else buy the book and read it, so there’s more people talking about it.
• I knew this book would be good but I underestimated how personal and thoughtful this book would be. Damon has written a masterpiece. It’s is absolutely hilarious and I couldn’t put it down. His descriptions of the people and places around him (from his wife, to his point guard on his pickup basketball team), are brilliantly executed.
  I have recommended this book to anyone I know that reads and who also enjoys a good chuckle.