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When I first started reading this graphic memoir, I swiped to the dedication page and I knew that Darrin Bell's story will devastate me. The page is a never-ending list of black people that were murdered by police and (to a larger extent) white supremacy. The words "For my sons and daughters" are highlighted in the middle of that list, making the page into a powerful statement in itself.

I loved how vulnerable the author is with his fears during childhood and the years after. I can relate to the parts where his views on racism changes as he grows up. When he's a child, he thinks that his white mother is being paranoid whenever she brings up the fact that he's (half) black and that white society will always see him as a threat, no matter his age.

During a group discussion with his white classmates in his undergrad years, there's a really sad and sobering moment where he slowly realizes that his mother was right. No matter how "good" of a person he is, America will always see him as a black man. There's no way to escape white supremacy since it's so embedded in American society. It's so powerful that I had to screenshot it. As a WOC, it rings true for me.

"I think I was taken off guard by their asking me questions. Usually these guys reflexively tell me I'm wrong. Or they outright ignore my points (until one of them repeats what I said, as if THEY thought of it.) My hypothesis is that wittingly or not, they see minorities as electromagnetic waves. And they see themselves as the medium through which our experiences, our perspectives, our opinions - and even our PRESENCE - propagate. Everything about us is valid only to the extent that THEY are willing to entertain it.

They seem to feel that they're as foundational and as supreme as the Aether."

There's a chapter titled "The Talk" where the author has "the talk" with his black son about the realities of being black in America. It was really powerful to see it all laid out and ngl, it made me cry. Maybe (hopefully?) his son will grow up to live in a better world. If White America gets its act together.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for this arc.