Hello Passionistas
I know it’s been a while since I posted a book review. I still have my Audible subscription and I recently finished We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories, written and narrated by Gabrielle Union.
I must say, I didn’t know what to expect from a book written by Gabrielle Union. Honestly, I thought it would be a hollywood tell all book. But it’s not that at all. Yet it’s still good. It’s like mini conversations with Gabby. Just stories of life and how it works – good times, hard times, sad times, and happy times… Just life in the form of a book.
I love a good story and this book is full of good, relatable stories. Gabrielle Union explains the details of her childhood up to her career as an actress. So many stories of so many things that have happened to her and how things came together in her life. She’s a regular person. She has a normal story. With all her riches, many of her stories are not only entertaining but honest and real.
The book hit topics of being black raised in a white community, being raped and the aftermath, marrying the wrong person, and family heartaches. I love that not all of it was bad, there are good stories as well… like life on set and behind the scenes of Bring it on and Being Mary Jane and being invited to Prince’s A list Dinner parties- but most of all Love and Happiness. This is not a book written by a bitter black women, this is a book written by an evolved black women. It’s her truth.
It’s hard to pick a favorite chapter but I will say I went back to listen to Chapter 11: Prescription for a break up after I finished the book. But Chapter 6: Who hates you most, is hilarious!!! I literally hollered out loud listening to this chapter. Every chapter has a good story to share and a lesson to be learned. I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to all of you. I wish I could get my friends to do a book club with me because this would be a really good book to read and discuss with you day ones.
I have a bittersweet feeling about the success she has gotten from playing the role of Cookie in the Fox hit show Empire. Don’t get me wrong, I love that she is finally in the spotlight and getting the attention she deserves. But why did the role of Cookie have to be it for her. She has played some very interesting roles. Evette was award winning for me. But it took so much longer for the rest of the world to see that.
I love memoir’s written by celebrities I admire. But “Around the Way Girl” is a term I wasn’t ready for. I wanted to read Taraji’s book but I was not trying to shade my judgment of how amazing she is to me with the phrase, “around the way girl”. Where I’m from that phrase is used to describe the girls who get around with every fella in town. That’s not how I wanted to know Taraji P. Henson. So it took me a minute to want to read the book. But when I did decide to read it, I was completely wrong about her meaning of “Around the Way Girl”. Reading her memoir made me fall more in love with her. I love feeling connected to my favorite celebrities. If you read this book you will see for yourself, it’s not a tell all book. It’s an inspirational story about her struggle to get to where she is today. She is a hustler. She fought her way from DC to Hollywood in a way that was fit just for her. She had many heartbreaks and set backs but she never gave up. Her story will make you cry, laugh and love her even more. I respect her craft and support her even more after reading this book.
