Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts

In October 2018, a white man from Kentucky entered a Kroger in Louisville, Kentucky, and murdered two Black people.

One of those murdered was Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts’ cousin. In Then They Came for Mine: Healing from the Trauma of Racial Violence (galley received as part of early review program, but full book read), she processes all she has experienced and provides a way forward for healing from the trauma of racial violence.

None of this is abstract for the author; she has lived show more it and also presents the testimony of others in her family and those from the family of the other Black person murdered that day. The author insists on recognizing why the trauma of Black people matters, and affirms and validates the intersectional nature of many of the difficulties which she and others have faced. The author addresses matters relating to the law and the exercise (or lack thereof) of justice, how silence enables all kinds of ugliness, how all need to be held accountable if there will be true unity, to insist on empathy and love as the way forward, for white people to recognize the violence in their midst and to confess it and lament it if there will ever be repentance and healing, and why it is so important to affirm the full humanity of all of us and to embrace the fullness of life as we pursue liberation and integrity for all.

Many may want to indict the work as “political,” but all of this is quite personal for the author, her family, and her community. She provides an important witness for all of us to consider. show less

Title: Black Joy Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration
Author: Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts
Publisher: Gallery Books
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Black Joy Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration" by Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts

My Assessment:

Be ready for a read that will give it all to you especially left with the thoughts of being not only 'honest but engaging, informing, and oh so thought-provoking.' This author provides the reader with quite a read that show more 'gifts her community with a collection of lyrical essays about the way joy has evolved, even during trauma, in her own life.' The 'Black Joy' collection will recharge one as they pass on this information between friends and, yes, even family. I enjoyed how 'It has an answer for anyone who needs confirmation that they are not alone and a brave place to quiet their mind and heal their soul.' The author lays it all out there for the reader as she describes her trauma, also giving us that of even other Black people...end the end provides us with the tool needed for 'resistance and resilience that will counteract the stereotype of the Black pain.'

Be ready to receive essays that will leave you not only inspired but hopeful and reflected in this nonfictional read. The author knows how to keep one's interest as she shares her stories giving the reader quite an ancestorial collective read. However, to fully understand 'Black Joy,' you will have to pick up the read and see for yourself how well this author brings it all out to you. And Yes, I would recommend this read.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

A hard read in some ways, sometimes depressing, but ultimately affirming.

I especially like how the author reiterates that the Black experience isn't monolithic, that Black individuals each bring our own brand and perspective to Blackness, which is so true.

Again—affirming.