It’s aight but

4/10

This book was painful to read. I really wanted to enjoy the book because the person's life seemed interesting (he's a Black politician in the South) but I have to unabashedly say the man needed a ghost writer. Or a better editor. I skim read a lot of this just to get through it. It wasn't a very long book or I probably would have DNF'd.

3.5 but didn’t like it enough to round up to a 4. It started and ended really strong but I almost DNF’d somewhere in the middle. I decided to listen to the audio because I enjoy listening to the author speak in his interviews but his narration wasn’t as engaging as I expected. I did enjoy the way he incorporated the history of SC in this memoir.

An interesting book that balances cultural analysis and memoir, Bakari Sellers is clearly a gifted leader and politician. His insights and experiences added much to this commentary on race and the State of the Nation. However, it’s hard not to compare him to Coates, who is a much more gifted writer and this book doesn’t hold up compared to other similar works.

"We're not running for anything else other than for this little girl in this yellow shirt right here, so that she can dream big dreams."

"Black women never had true allies. White women sacrificed and fought hard in the civil rights movement too, but they were just a handful. Black women have always fought against the oppression of black men, but where are the black men in the fight for black women?"

I first learned of Bakari Sellers when I heard him on a political podcast I listen to frequently. I loved his insight on politics and the world. He is a uniter, not a divider. But he's not interested in achieving unification by ignoring the very real systemic problems that plague our nation, and harm black Americans in particular. He was direct without it feeling confrontational. Instead, I felt like his words enlightened my understanding and made me want to change myself and the world around me.

When his audio book became a daily deal on audible I grabbed it. I really did enjoy it. To be honest, I think I'd much rather sit in a cafe and just listen to Bakari tell me these stories organically rather than hearing him read the words. I think in his reading it took away a touch of the passion that he probably felt as he wrote it. But still, I really did enjoy this story. I don't understand why we struggle so much as a society to progress toward a more perfect union where the ideals of our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution can be more fully realized by ALL people. As a fierce advocate for education, it really REALLY irritates me to hear about how poor, rural children are so short-changed when it comes to funding and support for education. It was just as irritating to listen to how rural families in poverty also deal with inadequacies in receiving proper healthcare. Surely we can do better. Surely.

I loved Bakari's optimism and his passion for making a different and better world for his children. I loved hearing his history and the lessons he has learned. I really enjoyed this. Four stars.

Eye opening!

I vaguely knew the name Bakari Sellers. I don't watch CNN. He seemed to regularly show up on my Twitter feed, though, and people were tweeting rave book reviews. I'm glad I paid attention. He had amazing stories about his life experience and his family and I am a better person for learning them. It was also special hearing them in his own voice on Audible.