Reviews

Breathe: A Letter to My Sons by Imani Perry

bribrireads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

zoya_neela's review against another edition

3.0

After reading, "Between the World and Me" by Te-Nahisi Coates, I thought this would be a good read with a different perspective on similar topics. Simply, this is a letter from a loving mother to their sons, growing up and living in a country and world that sees them as 'less than human'.

hbflynn's review against another edition

5.0

"But I do not believe the acts of oppressors are my people’s shame. For me, that my people became, created, and imagined from a position of unfreedom is a source of deep pride, not shame. I hope you learn that too. What better evidence of human beauty and resilience could there be?"

A beautiful, striking, loving, brutal letter from a Black mother to her Black sons on growing up and living in America.

ceedoubleu's review against another edition

5.0

A beautiful touching personal compilation of letters to her sons that easily connects to a wider audience. The warmth that emanates these pages is clear evidence of her love.

pamiverson's review against another edition

4.0

Written as a love letter to her sons, the Black academic, activist, and author examines her life (importance of ancestors, lessons from family, meaning of places), her faith, and our history in a series of thoughtful essays. I really enjoy her writing.

adrianlwaller's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

carrienation76's review against another edition

4.0

This is a fantastic read. It's hard to pull one's self away from the text and I was nervous to dip out during a section, but falling back into the rhythm and prose of the book is almost immediate. This book is a journey worth taking. The ways that Perry illustrates the delicate dance between parent and child and world is both beautiful and tragic, fragile and flexible. It tells the ways one must impart history and culture, and also how it is intuitively felt and understood, for better and worse. She shows the way learning happens in both directions in a parent/child relationship and the way new understandings are forged over time.

hlc22's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

ckiley4's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful.

krystlem's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0