Adistinguished scholar writes to her sons about the joy, possibility, and grace of black life amid ongoing American struggles with race, gender, and class.

Carrying on an iconic legacy of public letters from black writers—think James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Kiese Laymon, among many others—Perry (African American Studies/Princeton Univ.; Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, 2018, etc.) reflects on her family history, tying it together with cultural allegories to impress upon her sons the precious inheritance found within black social life and the pursuit of a livelihood full of “passion, profound human intimacy and connection, beauty and excellence.” A multidisciplinary and acclaimed researcher, Perry uses references throughout the slim volume that range across centuries and the global black diaspora, across folklore, music, and visual arts as well as the influence of numerous faith traditions. “The people with whom you can share the interior illumination,” she writes, “that is the sacramental bond.” She breaks down the structures of violence and marginalization that black children face while uplifting the imaginative and improvisatory space for them to focus on their becoming, to not be trapped in misnarrated stories or “forced into two dimensions when you are in four.” Echoing Baldwin’s distinctive “Letter to My Nephew,” Perry emphasizes the critical life discipline of making choices—not in the shallow sense of choosing success or achievement but rather within the depths of the long, historic freedom struggle to answer important questions—e.g., “How will you treat your word? How will you hold your heart? How will you hold others?” Deeply intergenerational, the book blurs intended audiences to call all of us to face up to legacies of injustice while insisting on the grace and conviviality necessary to imagine just futures.

A masterfully poetic and intimate work that anchors mothering within the long-standing tradition of black resistance and resourcefulness.

-Kirkus Review

About the author: quoting from the book's dust jacket, "Imani Perry is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of six books, including the award-winning 'Looking for Lorraine'. . ." Stacey Abrams, founder and chair of Fair Fight Action, Inc., said of this work, "[It is] [A] lyrical meditation that connects a painful, proud history of African American struggle with a clarion call for present-day action to protect, defend, and celebrate the promise of the next generation."

This was really beautifully written and just so clearly full of compassion, care, and love. It's also a short read, and mostly kept my attention. I'm not sure it's a book For Me, not that it matters exactly, or that I read it at the time, but was still really beautiful. If anything, it feels almost too private to review and/or have an opinion about. I'm not sure it's something I would return to exactly, but I'm glad I read it. ( )

I adored this book. It's definitely one of the best I have read in quite a while. Honestly, I cannot believe that Imani Perry was concerned that her sons might grow to hate the book she wrote for them. This book is beautifully written and full of love. You don't have to agree with everything in the book to see that.

I enjoyed the following excerpt (and I will explain why below): "The history of conquest is a scourge on the human condition. A lingering one. The fact of the body, the fact of who has the most weapons, the fact of which gender one finds attractive and which one to belong to, regardless of the details of the flesh, these are things I believe in making free and treating tenderly."

I have been around for a while and have paid close attention to the ways in which writers have broached the topics of sexual orientation and gender identity. I have seen how often they address the former while neglecting the latter. Everyone will find this book relatable to some degree, regardless of whether you are Black in the United States. ( )

Imani Perry's book, "Breathe: A Letter to my Sons" should be read by every American who who would like, in some small way, to try to understand what it is like to be a black American in the 21st century, and to be the parent of a black boy or man today. Ms. Perry herself is an amazing woman: a lawyer, author, college professor and mother who has a magical touch in the way she describes her life and that of her extended family going back several generations, and her two dearly loved sons who are on the cusp of manhood. In an age when it is dangerous to even be black in America, Ms. Perry describes with clarity the joys and sorrows, fears and challenges, accomplishments and losses of even a successful and gifted black family. This book should be read by everyone and anyone seeking to somewhat understand this topic. Highly recommended!! ( )