Thanks to @threestoriespress and Library Thing for the gifted copy. 

RELEASED: 5/4/2021 Far Away From Close to Home: A Black Millennial Woman in Prgress by Vanessa Baden Kelly is a collection of seven essays where she shares her experiences as a Black woman moving to Los Angeles while navigating marraige, motherhood, activism, gentrification and racism. Each piece gives you a glimpse into the Black experience in L.A., challenges perspectives and invites you to dig deeper to dissect topics such as Black love, community, solidarity and matters of every day life. As I got further into the collection, each piece forced me to stop and reflect on the ways that racism and white supremacy continue to shake the foundation of Black society and create roadblocks to healing. 

The author essentially is giving us a glimpse into her life and how her identity was shaped through different life experiences. She tackles her own identity by exploring different aspects of personhood, the right to exist and live a full life and the ways that U.S. society silences Black people and forces submission and assimilation. But the very ideals that are placed on Black people don't save them or keel them safe. She is constantly searching for home and safety in L.A. but in America no matter you do, this is not afforded to Black people. 

She lays herself bare in the pages and  holds nothing back. She presents ideas in ways that keep you captivated in thought long after you're done reading. After each essay, I found myself talking to my husband about each new gem she dropped that had me reeling. Baden Kelly was born to write and her voice is unique, profound, and commands attention. 

Her essay about Black Love was the one that continues to stay with me because of the connections she draws to history and the illusion that has been passed down to Black people. Black love is about survival. 

🖤 "Black love in America- has never really had a chance to blossom at its foundations. For the survival of ourselves and each other it has traditionally been about caretaking and togetherness and two people's ability to rise above a station together". 

🖤 "Black folks were robbed of that the moment we were brought to these soils. Everything is about what we can do. What we can give. What we can show. Even our love. They stole our miracle."   

In "Unreliable Narrator", she delves into her experiences in creative writing classes and having her stories shut down and being labeled unreliable. She talks about how white dominate these spaces and believe their perspectives are the only valid ones, yet they are ones whose experiences and views are most limited.                                                       
🖤 "If they have never heard of it, you must qualify to them why it is a classic. I have been conditioned to understand that other voices matter and to reconcile them with my own because I know how it feels to be silenced."                              In "Joggers", reflecting about Ahmaud Albery, she meditates on gentrification and the ways that Black people have to change their behaviors to stay safe in their own neighborhoods.                      
🖤 "A white neighbor means censorship, or your life could be at stake. They are the threats. If we do not censor who we are and assimilate to who whites want us to be to feel safe, it is a green light for oppression. A green light for death." I highly recommend that everyone read this book. It is a transformative experience and you will definitely gain a new perspective about the urgency of fighting for Black lives. You will not have the same mindset after you read this one.