I picked it up Breathe for @thestackspod Book Club and I'm so glad I did as it is a beautiful and poignant book on raising Black sons in America. It’s so intensely personal and Imani Perry’s writing is just stunning. She is rightfully adamant about her sons claiming their joy and beauty in a country which is stacked against them. Even people who aren't parents will be moved by the tenderness with which Perry recollects precious memories from her sons' births and lives.

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She opens up a window into the deeply personal inner lives of herself and her family, and I appreciated her after-word where she relayed her feelings when she was asked to write this book. There's always a risk that people will judge your parenting or that your kids will resent you for writing so personally about them later in life. But ultimately Perry felt compelled to write it.

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It truly is a heartfelt book, but I would recommend getting a physical copy if you can. Imani Perry narrates it herself, and she does so beautifully, but the actual production was a bit off. A lot of the time you can hear people coughing in the background or moving around, opening doors etc. This was a bit distracting, and a lot unnerving when I was listening to it on my own at home and someone coughed seemingly behind me!