In Our Shoes - by Brianna Holt (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Our Shoes: On Being a Young Black Woman in Not So "Post-Racial" America is a memoir in essays about young Black women and the stereotypes and preconceived notions they are expected to live up to, examined through the lens of Brianna Holt's lived experience and pop culture to help readers unlearn their biases and expand their worldviews. Part memoir, part cultural critique, In Our Shoes will walk readers through the common stereotypes and issues young Black women have to overcome in modern America, in order to dismantle myths about Black womanhood and explore the roles Black millennial women take on simply to survive. In nine thoughtful chapters laced with searing commentary, reportage, personal anecdotes from Brianna's own life, as well as interviews conducted with "everyday" Black women, In Our Shoes hopes to illuminate readers on the complexities of existence for Black women and create a digestible, thought-provoking book that will help readers to learn, empathize, reflect, and act. A personal history, a work of criticism, a piece of reporting, and a call to action, In Our Shoes is a timely exploration of race and womanhood that aims to entertain and inform"--

Book Synopsis

Part memoir, part cultural critique, In Our Shoes uses pop culture and author Brianna Holt's own lived experience to dissect the stereotypes and preconceived notions that young Black women must overcome in America today.

In this fresh exploration of cultural appropriation, wokeness, tone policing, and more, Holt carefully dismantles myths about Black womanhood, allowing readers to assess their biases while examining the roles Black millennial women are forced to take on simply to survive.

Through nine thoughtful chapters--such as "Leave the Box Braids for the Black Girls" and "Why Are You So Dark?"--laced with searing commentary, personal anecdotes from Brianna's own life, and interviews conducted with "everyday" Black women and experts across different fields, In Our Shoes reveals the complexities of existence for Black women and creates a thought-provoking book that helps readers to learn, empathize, reflect, and, most importantly, act.

A history, a work of criticism, a piece of reporting, and a call to action, In Our Shoes is a timely exploration of race and womanhood that will entertain, inspire, and inform in equal measures.

Review Quotes

"Holt offers particularly potent critiques of unconscious bias in the workplace and the many flaws inherent in white feminism. A commendable, colloquial perspective on a continually fraught topic." --Kirkus

"Part memoir and part cultural critique, Holt's collection of essays about Black millennial womanhood continues a very important conversation around how Black women and femmes can unlearn the harmful ideologies projected onto them by our white supremacist society, while also reclaiming our existence and empathizing with that of others who look like us." --Refinery29

"In Our Shoes is a collection of essays that shine a light on the issues Black millennial women face every day. Author Brianna Holt brilliantly tackles everything from code-switching and tone policing to the dangers of medical misinformation." --The Root

"...dives deeply into the plights of Generation Z's young Black females." --Ebony

"In nine chapters, Holt breaks down the tricky existence faced by Black millennial women taking advice from their Baby Boomer and Gen X predecessors who are trailblazing new paths for young Black women." --Dallas Observer

"Blending personal memoir with astute cultural analysis, "In Our Shoes" artfully employs the lens of pop culture and author Brianna Holt's firsthand encounters to deconstruct the pervasive stereotypes and preconceived notions young Black women face in America." --The Grio

"A spectacular deconstruction of that word, peeling back the layers, a must-read because this kind of serious, long conversation on the page is just so simply good for us, all of us." --Caroline Kepnes, New York Times bestselling author of You

"Brianna Holt astutely observes that 'some people feel a great discomfort when Black women advocate for their well-being, share the harm others have caused them, or even express their joy.' In Our Shoes is a gorgeous, bold refutation of our white supremacist overculture's insistence that Black women are a homogenous lot. Her book is also a tender love letter to Black womanhood itself."--Sara Benincasa, actress and author of Real Artists Have Day Jobs

About the Author

Brianna Holt is an author, screenwriter, and reporter living in New York City. Holt's writing has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, GQ, The Cut, The Atlantic, Complex, and more, including her own column, Active Voice, through Medium's GEN. In Our Shoes is her first book.