hefestx's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
elaineisxyz's review
5.0
An inspiring read basically because Grace Lee Boggs is an inspiring person. I've marked up and saved so much of the book as I've read through it, as she has in a very matter-of-fact way told the story of her (at the time) 80+ years of activism.
It manages to be a dozen stories about how progressive/socialist groups destroy themselves while still also imparting lessons she's learned through those experiences and giving hope through a way forward into the future.
It manages to be a dozen stories about how progressive/socialist groups destroy themselves while still also imparting lessons she's learned through those experiences and giving hope through a way forward into the future.
thegayrobotsfromstarwars's review
5.0
Seriously inspirational stuff about social justice and about living and growing old. I am so in awe of GLB’s generosity, wisdom, resiliency, and ability to learn from the past. I always recommend this book to people when they tell me the world feels hopeless. There is so much to learn here.
astropheems's review against another edition
4.0
It took me four long months to finally finish this book. It was a slow, but necessary read for me. I learned so much about Grace's work and commitment to movement building and liberation based futures. Not the typical memoir/autobiography I've read, but felt more like I was reading for a study group. In fact I wish I had a study group to meet up with and be guided through the book piece by piece. I often dog eared or marked specific passages or quotes that resonated with me deeply. It provided great historical and social context for me, especially around all the smaller movements and groups within radical oriented organizations/groups. Grace focused on the every day leaflet writing way of educating communities, bringing folks together to dialogue and process neighborhood issues. She wrote honestly about her identity as an Asian American woman. She asked a lot of questions, and in turn pushed me as a reader to ask a lot of questions about the kind of equitable and revolutionary future I've imagined/believe we can work towards. This book is dense, and packed with information and gems, but it's written in a conversational way. I felt like she was speaking to me at some parts, at others I felt like I was sitting in on a lecture, or peeking in on a classroom or reading an academic book. While it took me awhile to get through, I am very thankful for it.
mikolee's review
3.0
I love the idea of this book and of course the great and talented and transformative Grace Lee Boggs. But the book is overly theoretical and I so wanted more personal history about her brilliant life. Still great to get inside the mind of an absolutely amazing woman.
michellyreads's review
4.0
it's taken me over 2 years to finally finish this, but i did it! a very detailed (at times boring but appreciated her details) account of grace lee bogg's long life as a political activist civil rights revolutionary and the relationships she built, including with her husband jimmy lee boggs. she was born in 1915, she wrote this in her mid-80's and lived to 100! interesting to read about the evolution of her politics and ideologies, the evolution of all the movements throughout the years, and great eye-opening look at detroit's civil rights organizing since the mid-1900's, and through the different justice movements, how we can understand the past to help envision a better future.
there's sooo much to learn from her life's work in detroit, her books, and her stories. i especially enjoyed hearing her backstory as a chinese-american woman in the US growing up in the early 1900's. she is truly inspiring!
"reality is constantly changing and we must be wary of becoming stuck in ideas that have come out of past experiences and have lost their usefulness in the struggle to create the future"
"key distinction between revolution and rebellion is rebellion is a stage in the development of revolution but it is not the revolution. it is still important as it represents the standing up of the oppressed, breaks the threads that have been holding the system together and questions the legitimacy of the supposed permanence of the existing institutions"
"revolution provides the basis of new social order after disruption, struggle with institution and must make a spiritual and philosophical leap to become more human human beings, in order to transform the world, they/we must transform ourselves"
*"one of the most important qualities of revolutionary leadership: the ability to evolve as reality changes and as you learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others"
*"what kind of transformations do we need in our values, institutions, and behavior to reconnect us with the rhythms and processes of nature?"
there's sooo much to learn from her life's work in detroit, her books, and her stories. i especially enjoyed hearing her backstory as a chinese-american woman in the US growing up in the early 1900's. she is truly inspiring!
"reality is constantly changing and we must be wary of becoming stuck in ideas that have come out of past experiences and have lost their usefulness in the struggle to create the future"
"key distinction between revolution and rebellion is rebellion is a stage in the development of revolution but it is not the revolution. it is still important as it represents the standing up of the oppressed, breaks the threads that have been holding the system together and questions the legitimacy of the supposed permanence of the existing institutions"
"revolution provides the basis of new social order after disruption, struggle with institution and must make a spiritual and philosophical leap to become more human human beings, in order to transform the world, they/we must transform ourselves"
*"one of the most important qualities of revolutionary leadership: the ability to evolve as reality changes and as you learn from your own experiences and the experiences of others"
*"what kind of transformations do we need in our values, institutions, and behavior to reconnect us with the rhythms and processes of nature?"
More...