I have to admit that I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, I was definitely anticipating it, but I didn't know how George was going to see fit to tell his story. When I opened up the the book the first thing I read was the Author's Note. I find it quite important to know the author's intent. In the Author's Note George States "Please know that this book was crafted with care and love, but most importantly to give a voice to so many from marginalized communities whose experiences have not been captured between the pages of a book". I think he accomplished his goal with this book.
In the introduction of the book he tells the story of his birth and how it was a foreshadowing of his life. He goes on to speak about gender and gender identity. George also goes on to talk about society, the binary and how the world would be if children weren't just pushed into a gender identity because of their genitalia. He takes us on quite a journey into what he thinks of the intersection of his blackness, his queerness and the need to embrace them both.
Through the book he talks about his journey as a black queer kid to a black queer adolescent and a black queer adult. In the book he talks about his relationships with his Nanny, mother, father, brother and various cousins "The Village" as he calls them. George also discusses his how his family supported him and stood by him no matter how different he was. Specifically his Nanny made sure he was loved and kept him company when he became more and more isolated. The Village made sure he was safe, loved and knew that they always had his back.
As he continues on his journey in the book, he describes relationships with the family members that were a part of his "Tribe". These are family members who he realized were black and queer like him. There are a few of them described in the book - Hope, G.G., Thomas among others. George noticed Hope was different and forged a bond with her as he got older. G.G., George's older brother became closer when George got older and are close now. Thomas was his cousin who George found out was gay during an encounter. He struggled to tell the story about Thomas because he was killed for his queerness and that tragedy was hard for him.
I mostly personally related to in his college years, being a queer person that went to an HBCU, not having the language to label myself and also not really wanting to adhere top labels builds character.
Even though he knew his identity, navigating certain conversations was not fun. The difference is that he made it through his Greek process I did not. Lol, I guess I just wasn't built for that shit. He found family, brotherhood and deeper kinship in his brothers. This bond was tried when one of his brothers died suddenly. All in all he was able to navigate it a little bit better than I did, but his journey to that point was a trying one.
After reading this book I felt amazing, it was like I saw myself and other black queer people in those pages. I was filled with joy that so many of us would be able to read this book and identify parts of themselves in his story. Maybe his story will be inspiration for others to tell their stories, so that we may be able to identify with these stories in ourselves. After reading this book there is a feeling of kinship with those like us and maybe just maybe it will connect us through our similarities. Maybe it will help some of us feel less alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment