LOVE!!!!! She could not be more different from me

But I have never felt so represented by a book!!
I am not young, black, smart enough to go to an Ivy, an "up and comer" or the daughter of divorced parents but I have never felt my feelings so voiced. The fact she actually reads her own work makes it even more powerful.
I remember the relentless pushing through high school with a Trident missile's targeting on getting out of my hometown! The anxiety of college where the heady knowledge, desire to study, learning, meeting inspirational leaders all could all be instantly drowned in a "does he like me/why doesn't he like me" panic attack. Parents and environment who instilled an incredibly toxic and out of synch view of sexuality.
Speaking of sex- some essays in this book are incredibly raw and honest. If you can not deal with a woman having a powerful sex drive or explicitly discussed medical issues this is NOT the book for you. However, listening to one chapter in this book is the first time I ever got a physical reaction where I wanted to cross my legs- like guys do when they see a baseball player catch a ball in the berries.
I loved it so much I also bought the paperback!

17 people found this helpful

Must read

Morgan is an incredible writer and performer. I think this should be a must read for everyone who considers themselves human. So everyone. But if I had to choose, definitely all Americans. Morgan writes beautifully and with an openness that is difficult to find. I’m excited to follow her career and hope that voices like hers continue to push their way through the noise.

10 people found this helpful

Enjoyed it so much I'm going to listen to it again

I am indebted to Morgan Jerkins for writing this book and literally giving her voice to it in this audiobook. She tied together some abstract concepts with practical stories and examples very personal parts of her life. and at the same time she revealed a lot to me, a liberal white woman, about how I can work personally and in my community 2 Fight Against Racism and patriarchy. so-- please listen to this beautiful and brilliant story.

7 people found this helpful

Raw, honest, real

Morgan gives an unapologetic, cutting, and cathartic experience of being a black woman in a white patriarchal society. It hurts, it stings, but it is the most real thing I have listened to in many a year.
The book is not laced with much hope, but I don’t believe that was the point; just taking a raw gaze at black feminism for what it is. What we do with it, is up to us.
I thank Morgan for her encouragement to survive as we always have, and to thrive with the gifts we have always had, too, as well as thrive by not picking up society’s burdens.
Very, very well done. M

5 people found this helpful

Beautiful. Brutal. Compelling. Awakening, even if you think you're woke.

Brilliant. Strong. Concentrated. Powerful. Not light reading. And might change your life. Rethinking my own life and experiences with a different outlook. Better for it. Thank you.

5 people found this helpful

searing honesty and rigor

A beautiful book and a must read. I was astonished by vulnerable the author was willing to be with the details of her inner life. In the same book, she gives one of the most well thought out treatments of the thorny issue of Black representation in the works of white artists that I've ever encountered. I also really enjoyed the author's performance of her own work, it isn't something every author can pull off, Ms. Jerkins does.

5 people found this helpful

Every black girl should read this book.

I loved this book. I especially love black woman memoirs where the author is the narrator. This book gives language to my experiences growing up as an awkward black girl in white America. Thank you Morgan.

9 people found this helpful

Thoroughly Enjoyed This Read

Although this book was not written about me or necessarily for me, it was a privilege to listen to and witness it. A must read for the eloquent and honest writing and in order to make space for the experiences of the author.

3 people found this helpful

Deep, insightful, explanatory, expressive

Thank you Morgan Jenkins for writing this book. I loved every single minute of it.

3 people found this helpful

I've never identified so closely with a writer

What made the experience of listening to This Will Be My Undoing the most enjoyable?

Morgan Jenkins narrates this story with as much honesty as poise as she employs in her writing.

What did you like best about this story?

All of it. As a 27 year old black woman, I've never read a memoir that I could relate to this much. She admits things that I would never. Struggles with things as a woman that I do everyday (including a beloved stepfather with a degenerative frontal lobe--crazy!). Recognizes her power as a black woman in many of the ways that I do. I will definitely be buying a hard copy and recommending this to friends- both male and female because I think her story is milk and honey for black women and should be required reading before dating a black girl.

Which character – as performed by Morgan Jerkins – was your favorite?

Morgan.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

An empowering tale and prerequisite before dating a black girl.

Any additional comments?

Congratulations on all your accomplishments. Thank you for shedding so many layers and even teaching me some things. Carry on.

3 people found this helpful