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A review by visa_be_readin
Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation by Sophie Lewis
5.0
This book’s got balls, and frankly, it’s about time someone told the truth about how western family politics makes fools of us all.
Abolish The Family invites us to take part in critical thought experiments about why society clings so hard to (traditional) family privilege, and has us fighting amongst ourselves for the meager scraps of care which are coveted by the greedy few, and systemically withheld from everyone else.
This incredibly well-researched and painfully humane work feels nourishing for anyone who has ever struggled to belong to other people, has ever been made to feel undeserving of care and love. It MATTERS to have these experiences validated rather than be continually gaslit by abusers of privilege in all forms.
I really like how Lewis offers her own personal experience alongside historical context, and calls on the wisdom of so many queer and BIPOC ancestors, while acknowledging her own privilege in speaking to and for abolitionist movements. It affirms her position as an informed, self-aware, and reliable ally and scholar.
I’m grateful to this book for giving me language to articulate things that we all experience, language that we are purposefully robbed of in common public discourse, in order to squash any revolution before it starts. This book is essential reading for anyone engaged in 21st century freedom fighting.
Abolish The Family invites us to take part in critical thought experiments about why society clings so hard to (traditional) family privilege, and has us fighting amongst ourselves for the meager scraps of care which are coveted by the greedy few, and systemically withheld from everyone else.
This incredibly well-researched and painfully humane work feels nourishing for anyone who has ever struggled to belong to other people, has ever been made to feel undeserving of care and love. It MATTERS to have these experiences validated rather than be continually gaslit by abusers of privilege in all forms.
I really like how Lewis offers her own personal experience alongside historical context, and calls on the wisdom of so many queer and BIPOC ancestors, while acknowledging her own privilege in speaking to and for abolitionist movements. It affirms her position as an informed, self-aware, and reliable ally and scholar.
I’m grateful to this book for giving me language to articulate things that we all experience, language that we are purposefully robbed of in common public discourse, in order to squash any revolution before it starts. This book is essential reading for anyone engaged in 21st century freedom fighting.