Review: They Can't Kill Us All: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Wesley Lowery

In over a year of on-the-ground reportage, Washington Post writer Wesley Lowery traveled across the US to uncover life inside the most heavily policed, if otherwise neglected, corners of America today.

In an effort to grasp the scale of the response to Michael Brown's death and understand the magnitude of the problem police violence represents, Lowery conducted hundreds of interviews with the families of victims of police brutality, as well as with local activists working to stop it. Lowery investigates the cumulative effect of decades of racially biased policing in segregated neighborhoods with constant discrimination, failing schools, crumbling infrastructure and too few jobs.

Offering a historically informed look at the standoff between the police and those they are sworn to protect, They Can't Kill Us All demonstrates that civil unrest is just one tool of resistance in the broader struggle for justice. And at the end of President Obama's tenure, it grapples with a worrying and largely unexamined aspect of his legacy: the failure to deliver tangible security and opportunity to the marginalised Americans most in need of it. 

-- Goodreads.com description -- 

I received an arc from the publishers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

2017 is the year I started reading non-fiction for the first time. They Can't Kill Us All is the third non-fiction book I read this year. As I live in Europe, I am not as educated in the Black Lives Matter movement, which is why I decided to read this book. I did see news reports on the shocking police shootings and the following protests.

They Can't Kill Us All is written by a journalist, Wesley Lowery. It partly feels like his memoir of sorts and partly as an overview on the Black Lives Matter movement and the key events which led to it's conception. Lowery spends a lot of time relating how he reported a story and such, which I did not expect to read about in advance. He would first relay his experiences and then suddenly start writing about a key figure in the events as if they had written that part themselves. This at times confused me. I would either have omitted myself entirely or used a different form of writing for the accounts of those people. I hope this still makes sense?

This book gave me vital insight in the Black Lives Matter movement and the events surrounding it, which is why I wanted to read the book in the first place. However, I feel there is at times too much background information which can make it a really dense read. For example, the names of certain lawyers and other namedropping did not hold my attention for long as it took me away from the main focus of the book, or else, I did not get the main focus after all. It did give this book more authenticity which was probably the intention of the author.

If you are new to non-fiction books, I believe there are better books you can start with to get acquainted to the genre. However, I thought this book was very instructive and I'm really glad I read it. I gave this book 4 stars and would highly recommend it if you want to know more about the brutal police shootings in the U.S.


Have you read this book or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts down below!

Review: Nasty Women by 404 Ink

With intolerance and inequality increasingly normalised by the day, it's more important than ever for women to share their experiences. We must hold the truth to account in the midst of sensationalism and international political turmoil. Nasty Women is a collection of essays, interviews and accounts on what it is to be a woman in the 21st century.

People, politics, pressure, punk - From working class experience to racial divides in Trump’s America, being a child of immigrants, to sexual assault, Brexit, pregnancy, contraception, identity, family, finding a voice online, role models and more, Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, Zeba Talkhani, Chitra Ramaswamy are just a few of the incredible women who share their experience here.

Keep telling your stories, and tell them loud. 

-- Goodreads.com description --

I received an advanced reader's copy from the publishers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First, I want to thank the publishers for providing me with an arc, I'm very grateful for this opportunity. This is one of the first non-fiction books I have ever read in my spare time. I'm not familiar with the genre and therefore I can't compare it to other feminist works.

Nasty Women is a collection of essays on what it is to be a woman in the 21st century. These essays were written after the Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. Some essays deal with how this influenced their lives (in a negative way) but there are many other topics as well.

I wanted to read Nasty Women because I want to read more feminist texts. For me, this collection of essays was the perfect introduction to the genre. The texts are very diverse, some talk about racial and sexual issues, others talk about weight problems, etc. I found Nasty Women illuminating. The accounts of these women hit me hard sometimes. It offers very different perspectives and every single one is pertinent.

I thought the collection started out strong with an essay about how Trump's election influences people around you, even your own family, to feel it's okay to be racist and sexist. And that's simply heart-breaking.

One thing I really want to point out, is that potential trigger warnings are given at the beginning of these essays. This means you can easily skip an essay if you prefer not to read about rape or abuse, for instance.

All in all, as one of my first non-fiction and feminist reads, I really liked it. After reading each essay, I felt the need to discuss it immediately which probably annoyed my family to death. Nasty Women offers personal stories written by women who don't "fit in" with society's norms in various ways. These different perspective can at times be difficult to read. I am a privileged white female living in Belgium and I have learned a lot by reading Nasty Women. These passionate accounts often made me angry and sad at the same time. 

I gave this collection 5 out of 5 stars! I would highly recommend this book if you want to read some hard-hitting, feminist essays. This was a perfect introduction to feminist literature and I will definitely read more of these books in the future! Really, everyone should read Nasty Women, I was truly impressed by this collection.

Have you read Nasty Women or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts down below! Also, I would love to get some other feminist fiction or non-fiction recommendations!