Austin Channing Brown, a Black woman purposely given a white man’s name, shares her experience of growing up and living in a world that caters to whiteness. From the daily microaggressions at school and work to the larger, to more overt examples of racism and white supremacy from both individuals and society at large, her account is both personal and familiar.

She shares the daily, deep exhaustion from managing assumptions about herself and her race, from worrying about the safety of those she loves, and from the burdens of being both the Black voice in the room and the balm for white people’s guilt. And yet, she continues to show up and speak out, and she shares why it’s worthwhile to do so, while acknowledging that she may never fully see the fruits of her labor.

This short book is an excellent, eye-opening, and ultimately hopeful book to add to your anti-racist reading list. Brown narrates the audio and I highly recommend it.