A good book can provoke thought, give affirmation, and expand points of view. The outpouring of ideas and energy from writer to reader is nothing short of divine.
When an author effectively unpacks the emotions we’re too busy or too numb to articulate, it creates an intimate bond and transformative experience like none other.
Just in time for gift-giving, these compelling new and classic memoirs authored by Black women are guaranteed to inspire the entrepreneur, leader, or creative in your life.
Just As I Am: A Memoir – Cicely Tyson
“The lie of Black inferiority was built right into America’s infrastructure, and to this day, that framework remains stubbornly intact.”
Cicely Tyson is an icon. If ever a life was deserving of memoir, it’s hers. From Broadway to television to film, everything she touched shattered boundaries. Her starring role in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman made her the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Best Actress.
But this isn’t a story about accolades. Cicely Louise Tyson lived a life. Against every possible odd, she triumphed. In the face of innumerable invalidations, she prevailed. She clung to her regality despite physical, mental, and emotional abuse.
Gift this page turner to the overcomer in your life.
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times – Michelle Obama
“In clinging to only what you know, you are making your world small.”
Divisive politics, pandemic, global recession, and the ominous dialing back of women’s rights are just a few of the issues we’ve faced over the past couple of years. In her newest memoir, our forever First Lady and “go-high” queen, Michelle Obama, shares wisdom and strategies for staying hopeful in these challenging times.
Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change – Stacey Abrams
“Logic is a seductive excuse for setting low expectations.”
Politician, lawyer, author, and mountain mover, Stacey Abrams drops gems for bosses who occupy identities outside the traditional white male power structure. This book is overflowing with practical wisdom for women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and young leaders ready to make a difference against all odds.
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person – Shonda Rhimes
“Yes to everything scary. Yes, to everything that takes me out of my comfort zone. Yes, to everything that feels like it might be crazy.”
Shonda Rhimes, the brilliant showrunner of groundbreaking television dramas including Scandal, Bridgerton, and How to Get Away with Murder, has time today—and apparently, so do you. In her New York Times bestselling memoir, Year of Yes, the author encourages readers to let their yes, be yes, and embrace the unknown.
The Heart of a Woman – Maya Angelou
“she must provide a blanket of stability, which warms but does not suffocate, and she must tell her children the truth about the power of white power without suggesting that it cannot be challenged.”
Artists don’t get to exist in a vacuum. Maya Angelou was a mother, a rape survivor, and an activist long before becoming a global icon. In this 2009 memoir, the author chronicles her life and struggles juggling finances, single motherhood, and prioritizing her creative work as a budding new voice in New York’s Black Arts Movement.
Wounds of Passion: A Writing Life – bell hooks
“All my life, I have been suffering for words. Words have been the source of the pain and the way to heal.”
Few writers capture the tortuous bliss of emancipating a story as fully as Gloria Jean Watkins does. Known by her pseudonym, bell hooks—the author brilliantly vents the struggle and glory of writing in this memoir.
This one is a must-have for the Black-woman writer, author, or creative in your life.
Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me – Janet Mock
“No one can heal you. You must learn to be your own company, your own cure. You cannot retreat into someone else for fulfillment.”
For many, the second decade of life is utter chaos. In the compelling follow-up to her critically acclaimed bestselling memoir Redefining Realness, director, producer, and Emmy award-winning writer Janet Mock shares the gritty, unfiltered story of her early adult experience searching for her place in the world and creating the roadmap along the way.
This is the perfect read for the twenty-something visionary in your life.
Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom – Tabitha Brown
“love the Lord. I am a Christian. But I’m definitely not religious. I see how religion, particularly as an institution, has caused all kinds of separation between people who need each other.”
If all you know of Ms. Tab are her vegan recipes and endearing social media personality, you’re missing the best part. In her debut New York Times bestselling memoir, Tabitha Brown shares stories about faith, career, and lessons earned.
If you know someone in need of a good, soul-wrenching pep talk, this is the read for them.
The Measure of Our Lives: A Gathering of Wisdom – Toni Morrison
“Look to yourself. You free. Nothing, and nobody is obliged to save you but you.”
This book of quotes from Toni Morrison’s entire body of work is a body of work in itself. With excerpts from The Bluest Eye, Playing in the Dark, The Source of Self-Regard, and God Help the Child, Toni Morrison covers love, oppression, beauty, self-hate, and the unyielding spirit of Black woman stick-withitness like only she can.
This book is for every woman, it’s all in here.
Sister’s Uptown Bookstore, New York, NY.
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