Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement
(Format used for this read: Print—hardback)
SO many people recommended this book to me.
I was so happy that my husband gifted it to me on my birthday back in November…he actually heard about it while listening to Glennon Doyle’s podcast “We Can Do Hard Things.” (I still absolutely love that he listens to that, yall!)
He heard two episodes interviewing Tarana Burke which are just so so good….you can listen to them here:
Part One:
Part Two:
I very sheepishly admit that before people recommended her book to me and before I listened to her on Glennon’s podcast, I did not know anything about Tarana Burke.
Which is shameful considering the WORLD CHANGING work she has done/is doing.
Her work created the “me too.” Movement loooooonnnggggg before it became a viral hashtag.
When I tell yall this woman is a FORCE of life and of strength and of goodness….I don’t even think I can verbalize how much I mean that.
Every now and then I read a book and sit down to type a review….and there just doesn’t seem to be enough of the right kind of words in my brain to explain how I feel about it. It’s like I don’t have enough vocabulary to explain the extreme intensity or power of what I just read.
That is how I am feeling right now.
In fact, I have started and stopped this review at least half a dozen times in the past two days.
I want to honor this amazing author and tremendous human being and I literally am speechless in how to do that.
(But yall know I’m gonna give it a try 😁)
Here is the offical summary of this book:
“From the founder and activist behind one of the largest movements of the 20th and 21st centuries, the “me too” movement, Tarana Burke debuts a powerful memoir about her own journey to saying those two simple yet infinitely powerful words – me too – and how she brought empathy back to an entire generation in one of the largest cultural events in American history.
Tarana didn’t always have the courage to say “me too”. As a child, she reeled from her sexual assault, believing she was responsible. Unable to confess what she thought of as her own sins for fear of shattering her family, her soul split in two. One side was the bright, intellectually curious third generation Bronxite steeped in Black literature and power, and the other was the bad, shame-ridden girl who thought of herself as a vile rule breaker, not of a victim. She tucked one away, hidden behind a wall of pain and anger, which seemed to work…until it didn’t.
Tarana fought to reunite her fractured soul, through organizing, pursuing justice, and finding community. In her debut memoir, she shares her extensive work supporting and empowering Black and Brown girls, and the devastating realization that to truly help these girls she needed to help that scared, ashamed child still in her soul. She needed to stop running and confront what had happened to her, for Heaven and Diamond and the countless other young Black women for whom she cared. They gave her the courage to embrace her power. A power which in turn she shared with the entire world. Through these young Black and Brown women, Tarana found that we can only offer empathy to others if we first offer it to ourselves.
Unbound is the story of an inimitable woman’s inner strength and perseverance, all in pursuit of bringing healing to her community and the world around her, but it is also a story of possibility, of empathy, of power, and of the leader we all have inside ourselves. In sharing her path toward healing and saying “me too”, Tarana reaches out a hand to help us all on our own journeys.”
This book begins with a prologue where Ms Burke talks about when ‘metoo’ became a hashtag….and it went viral.
This was jarring for her…because she created the “me too.” Movement years before and poured her blood, sweat, tears and SELF into the work…
And she did not want it transformed into just a trendy hashtag used by people who had no idea the meaning and work behind it:
“This can’t happen….Not like this! Yall know if these white women start using this hashtag, and it gets popular, they will never believe that a Black woman in her forties from the Bronx has been building a movement for the SAME purposes, using those exact words for years now. It will be over. I will have worked all these years for nothing!”
Guess what…I am one of the white women who had no idea of the true origins of the “me too.” Movement and thought it BEGAN as a hashtag 🤦♀️
White ignorance of mine strikes yet again.
(And BTW I am not making grammatical errors when I type “me too.” Movement. This is exactly how it is supposed to be stated FYI.)
” I didn’t want to fight about who got what credit. I just wanted to show the world why a movement like this was necessary.”
This book is the story of the origins of this Movement….why it was and continues to be VITAL and NEEDED.
How it came to be, what it stands for, what it means, and what it is doing to make the world a better and SAFER place for everyone, ESPECIALLY women.
“The point of the work we’ve done over the last decade with the ‘me too.’ Movement is to let women, particularly young women of color, know that they are not alone–it’s a movement. It’s beyond a hashtag. It’s the start of a larger conversation and a movement for radical community healing. Join us.”
This book is also Tarana’s story….because that is the foundation for the entire movement.
Ms. Burke has an absolutely heartbreaking, intense, raw, painful, hopeful, loving, and empowering story.
I do want to take a second to inform those of you who have personal experience with childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault that there are multiple descriptions of this in the pages….
This may trigger your own trauma…or it may be what you need on your own healing journey.
It may be very tough to read….but it also may be your first step to a new type of knowing….
Knowing you are not alone. Knowing it is not your fault. Knowing you are loved and worthy of love.
This is why Tarana tells her story.
Honor her by listening to her words.
Support and acknowledge her work.
Listen to all the voices of women who she gave the strength to say “me too.”…..alll the women who bravely overcame the years of silence and pain that had them frozen and helped them take the first step towards a healing path.
Tarana believes fiercely in “empowering thru empathy”….and she just embodies that over and over again.
She is a SURVIVOR.
She is a WARRIOR.
My words are not expressing all the things I want to say….so I will just leave it at these:
READ THIS BOOK.
And
Thank you Ms Burke. You are loved and treasured and NEEDED in this world. ❤
Great content! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for reading!