Activist, actress and social media influencer Gabrielle Union offers a new collection of essays exploring intimate subjects including sexual assault, racism, infertility, friendship and motherhood.
In You Got Anything Stronger?, a collection of humorous, poignant and sometimes shattering essays, she wittily dissects and expands upon these public moments, tackling pain and feelings of inadequacy more forthrightly than you might expect from someone who appears so put-together ... however revealing Union is on her feed, she’s even more so on the page. Blurring the line between public and private, many chapters in You Got Anything Stronger? hinge on the very act of disclosure, the moments where Union relatably brings social media more in line with real life ... these essays reveal a keen awareness of the pressures of outside expectations, and of the necessity of pushing back against them to find happiness ... Union makes an offhand comment that seems to sum up her work as a writer and a public figure, a simple yet inspiring message about how she was able to find her way. 'The joy of connection in spirit that happens when you welcome in Black women—and don’t relegate us to holding up the wall,' Union writes: 'That joy will change your life.'
... e wise, intimate personal stories, welcoming readers back into her life and family with all the candor and wit of her first memoir ... She also gives advice about finding success in the entertainment industry. The respect with which she writes about the people in her life is a true testament to her character. Always smart, inviting, and generous with emotion, Union’s second exquisite memoir reads like a conversation with your most enlightened, thoughtful friend.
The author...writes charmingly and instructively about the many 'bonding stepmother-stepdaughter moments' she has shared with her gender-nonconforming stepdaughter, and she shares an entertaining anecdote about inadvertently getting on Janet Jackson’s bad side ... As these essays ably show, Union is a dynamic role model for young Black women in all walks of life.
