'Between the World and Me' by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Finished 9/12 at 9:21pm

Perspective is a really powerful thing.

'Between the World and Me' is a short but very powerful book, written in the format of an author writing his son. It aims to prepare him for a world that racism shapes, and is something he must struggle against with little hope of individual success.

Reminiscent of 'Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Coates book tackles the enormity of it's subject matter in a very personal way. In some ways it acts as an autobiography, in others a detailed viewpoint of the world his son is to inhabit, and Coates' fears and hopes for his son. Incredibly well-written, it conveys emotion, urgency and personality in a way that few writers of today can.

It also offers a deep perspective of what Coates' believes it means to be an African-American man today in America, something that I believe has the power to open eyes and command attention in a world that is short on it's willingness to put itself in other's shoes.

To be honest, I'm still absorbing 'Between the World and Me', in a way that someone who has not lived the same experience as Coates would be expected to. The book offered a perspective that I would not have been exposed to, at least in such vivid, honest and emotive terms, and one that is designed to shock and 'wake up' people from a culture that hurts others.

I think exposure and perspective are something that are incredibly important, especially in our current time where empathy is lacking (as well as the ability to admit that you are wrong).

In the end, I agree with Toni Morrison, who called the book "required reading" -- the act of doing so, and being exposed to an experience that has the potential and ability to change minds, mindsets/patterns and possibly even the way you live your life.