Gabrielle Union has long been a hero of mine. The way she carries herself, her (sometimes brutal) honesty and the way she uses her platform to speak up for minorities and empower women, whatever the uncomfortable consequences, is the stuff that makes me wanna be like her when I grow up.
When she announced her book, I got excited and placed my preorder. Of course in this corner of the world, it took a little longer for me to receive the it. But I finally received it, read it, and now I’m going to review it.
It’s exactly as the title implies. Gabrielle Union sits down with you and she tells you stories about her life. Stories that are so different from your stories. Yet stories that are 100% relatable in some way, shape or form. Except maybe the story about Prince. Stories that’ll make you want to laugh, cry or both.
She touches upon difficulties she faced growing up as the only Black girl in a predominantly white corner of the world and the subtle forms of discrimination that are still all too commonplace in today’s world. There are stories about how she herself was confronted with internalized colorism and misogyny. From topics such as these to deeply personal topics such as the struggles of her first marriage to issues with fertility, she leaves no taboo undiscussed. And you know what? I can only applaud her for it. Firstly because I can’t imagine sharing stories so deeply personal with the general public, and secondly for once again utilizing her platform to give a voice to so many women who have gone through similar things and telling them “You’re not alone, and you can deal with this whichever way you like.” She follows this up with brutal honesty about how she has dealt with problems, even if they include things most of society would tell you is inappropriate. Things I wish somebody would have told me years ago.
Honestly, it’s easy to dismiss books like these as just another celebrity trying to make a quick buck, but that would be completely dismissive of this woman’s ability to not just tell a story, but convey a message. Apart from that, it isn’t about her as this famous person we all know from TV. It’s about Nickie Union (how she was known before fame, read the book for more detail), the young girl, the survivor, the woman, the stepmother, the friend. I went from holding my breath to screaming out “YAAAAASSS GIRL” to fighting back tears reading through it. Honestly, all women should read this book.
We're Going to Need More Wine
