Hi friends! Welcome to another Book of the Month. First of all, now go follow on Instagram!
As you likely know, I like to do something of a dump here if I've missed several months of Book of the Month. So without much ado, here are some books I've recently read.
In traditional Yoruba culture, when they coronated a new king, there was always a particular attention paid to the affairs of the kingdom in the early parts of his reign. If after he became king, there was peace, success, prosperity, abundance, healthy children, and just general good vibes in the land, then his own destiny was fortunate. The idea was that the kingdom thriving and prospering after he was crowned king meant that he came with good fortune. On the other hand, if after they made him king, there was famine, widespread disease, unrest, random misfortunes and defeats, then something was spiritually wrong with that king. He had bad luck.
In that sense, he wasn't just a political leader. He was also sacred, and his spiritual condition, his fate, was deeply intertwined with the wellbeing of the land and the people.
Igbá Kejì Oọ̀ṣà: next in command to the deities or second-in-command to the gods.
After fifty-three years, the New York Knicks won the NBA championships this past weekend. And the spirit, the joie de vivre, the celebration, outburst of positivity, coming together, unity are so tear jerking, it's hard to encapsulate them in words. Someone who's been particularly proud of them is their mayor, Zohran Mamdani. As I saw New Yorkers take the streets and spread joy and laughter like wildfire, I couldn't help but make the connection. I couldn't help but think this man, who has secured a billion dollar investment in childcare, fixed over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND potholes, invested in affordable home-care among others in just SIX MONTHS, has also brought his people good luck.
"My mayor's muslim, my bagel's jewish, my christian dior, Knicks in four!" - MD Ahnaf Hossain, a 23-year-old Knicks fan.
New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world and it has thrived, not despite, but because of its diversity. Pakistanis, Black folks, Indians, Jews, Haitians, Bengalis, Italians, Africans, White folks, Christians, Buddhists, whatever the race, creed, religion, you will find it in New York and they exist and THRIVE side by side. It's the perfect beautiful depiction of how God created this earth. Somehow, hate has thrived so much in recent years, that this particular America has been forgotten. That specie of greatness, that DNA sequence of America that had made it so exceptional has now being ridiculed by hateful people. What a joy to be reminded of real American greatness this weekend. What a joy to see people be so brought together because of sports.
In Yoruba ancient kingdoms, the ruler's destiny and the destiny of the kingdom are linked. It was the king's responsibility to maintain harmony between human beings, the ancestors, and the gods. When there is joy, when there is abundance, when there is peace, when there is lightness, it's all evidence that the king has brought good luck and is a spiritually legitimate reign.
Now, my rational self knows that what happened in the ancient Yoruba kingdoms was good governance; that a strategic and good leader yielded benefits, and conversely, a poor leader did the opposite.
My faithful spiritual (Christian, in this case) self, however, will never underestimate the power of grace and favor.
There was some kind of misfortune that told Yoruba people a leader's favor with spiritual forces was in jeopardy. If a king was out of favor with the spiritual realm, everyone in that land suffered. Everyone. When barely minutes after a leader is inaugurated, a freak mid-air collision between an airplane and a military helicopter kills too many people; when a once-in-a lifetime pandemic strikes in the first reign of a leader and consumes millions of lives; and in the second reign of the same leader, another deadly disease (two actually) starts making the rounds; when depression increases; when food is so expensive, people have to start making videos on how to ration; when wars won't stop...well, friends, if this were an ancient Yoruba kingdom, we would conclude there is a cloud of bad omen following the leader. It was so bad that the one game the Knicks lost had this man sitting there.
Selah.
A leader's reign and his spiritual state directly reflect on the prosperity (or lack of ) of the land. You can't tell me any different.
Congratulations again to the New York Knicks!
Love,
I
1.) I did a thing! I posted a picture of myself on Instagram. While it may seem like nothing to you, it was a HUGE deal to me and I put it off for so long. When I first started to write, blog, I told myself "no one needs to see me. It should be about my writing." I still believe that. But it started to also feel like I was hiding. I do not want to hide, ever. So I took the plunge. Here we are.
2.) I was recently looking through old posts on this blog and wow...there were some bangers man. See on the joy of really living. Also see how to make decisions when your faith wavers. And a ramble on being young and carefree. Of course, For Rachel. I even wrote about love and romance (!)
I don’t know if I told you but I didn’t have the best luck with books last year. I just didn’t. When I picked up this book, I was immediately thrown into this world Sarai Johnson created and I knew I would be the better for it. Oh what a book. Grown Women covers fifty years of relationship across four generations of Black women, navigating the complexity of motherhood and daughterhood, and insidious generational trauma that spares none of them. We first meet Charlotte, and her stoicism and penchant for self destruction cues you in that something isn't right. Then we meet Corinna, Charlotte's daughter and her desperation to be invisible, her constant tentativeness and the complicated relationship between the two of them sets the stage for us to meet the other points of this thread: first Corinna's own daughter, Camille, who is finally a glimmer of hope in this heartbreaking tale of womanhood, and later, Charlotte's mother who seems menacing but is where we find answers for all the hurt spilling out of this book.
I enjoyed this book so much that even the dizzying timeline and multiple points of view did not bother me one bit. Last year, I watched Jessie Woo's video talking about the complex feelings a lot of women have as it relates to their daughter. Simply put, a lot of women do not like their daughters, at least not the way they love their sons. I talked about it here just briefly and I said everyone who is a daughter and who has a daughter should watch or listen to that. There is a lot to unpack about the inherent burden and resentment that sits in between too many mothers and daughters. This book captures it so beautifully. You feel the hurt, the anger, the dysfunction, the resentment. Something about how Sarai writes this book that doesn't want you to just automatically will it all away. Instead, you're interested in them unpacking it, going through it, surviving it, and healing from it. I think you sense the love, raw and crass, and much purer when Camille comes along. Sarai depicts these imperfect, deeply flawed Black women (all four of them. Cos chilee, I had my problem with Camille too) and reminds you that forgiveness is so much more for yourself that it is for the other person; that forgiveness is recurrent; that forgiveness is a choice, a tough decision.
"We move not on but forward."
I couldn't recommend this book more.
As far as what I didn't like, I already hinted it a bit: the alternative points of view and the timeline almost got complicated but honestly, it didn't get in the way of the story. What made it worse was that all the main characters' names start with a C. I imagined it seemed like a unique creative endeavor but whew, it almost become confusing. Admittedly, some stories did feel a little repetitive, and perhaps a few pages too long.
So you should definitely read this book and let me know what you think!
And that's about this for this month's Book of the Month. This one was a long time going. Look at all that snow in the background of the photo, ha!
Love,
I
1.) Y'all. It's Friday. I'm feeling like this so let's goooooo. Some of these are old but not any less relevant.
There is something about ambition; the way it gnaws at you, morphs into its own beast eats you from within, then chews you up from inside and when it's done with you, you'd be so lucky if you even recognize yourself.
In Susan Page's biography of Barbara Walters, Rulebreaker, Walters' ambition is forceful, it's desperate, thorough, and at some point maybe a little pathetic. And yet, I came out of it with full respect for the force of this person, who was a fearless pioneer for women in broadcasting, even when she didn't necessarily want to be.
Hopefully it's not too late to say welcome to the new year! Let's just jump right into this one. Here are some books I've recently read.
I have accepted that life comes with a good deal of the good and the bad. It’s very healthy to wade through life with that mindset. Yet some...