An urgent, brilliant work of historical excavation.
A vividly illustrated account of Black women rebels that combines elements of memoir, archival research, and informed imaginings of its subjects' lives.
A former tenants rights lawyer, Hall pursued a doctorate in history to uncover America's warped justice system. "In order to understand our experiences as Black women today,” she writes, “I had to study slavery.” This collaboration with illustrator Martínez focuses on two women-led revolts in New York City and uprisings during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Of a 1712 revolt, Hall finds in court records the first names of four women involved and sentenced to execution; none are quoted in transcripts. "This is one way history erases us….You think you are reading an accurate chronicle written at the time, but if who we are and what we care about are deemed irrelevant, it won't be in there,” writes Hall. The author also examines a 1708 revolt led by a woman referred to in documents as the “Negro Fiend”; she was burned at the stake. The granddaughter of slaves, the author seeks to honor her ancestors by filling in the silent record. Facing difficulty accessing records and digesting their information, Hall called upon her deceased grandmother for strength. In London, Hall delved into archives of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, reading hundreds of slave-ship logs. Revolts at sea were largely a suicide mission fueled by slaves' desire to "take their captors with them to the bottom of the ocean." Research shows that the more women onboard a slave ship, the more likely a revolt. Hall believes that this was because women were mostly kept unchained and on deck, where it was easier for crew members to rape them; this also gave them access to weapons. The black-and-white illustrations nicely complement the text and elevate the artfulness and the power of the book, which begins and ends with scenes depicting women-led revolts aboard a ship Hall calls the Unity.
An urgent, brilliant work of historical excavation.Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-982115-18-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
A memoir for those who want to laugh through the free fall of their own emotional roller coaster.
A humorous take on dread.
In her amusing graphic memoir, cartoonist Correll turns her emotional roller coaster into a literal, visual experience with her own amusement park of worries that she calls Anxietyland. Within this playful framework, she guides readers through her lifelong struggle with severe anxiety—there are attractions like the “worry-go-round,” “booze cruise,” “downward spiral,” and more, all culminating in finding the help that not only helps her manage the anxiety, but pushes her to do the work in confronting and living with it. To her credit, Correll uses the amusement park concept to dissect points in her life where her anxiety was holding her hostage from leading a fulfilling life. One panel shows Correll’s whimsical approach, as when her cat, Oliver, goes missing. “Why hasn’t he come home?” she thinks, her eyes full of worry, her mouth downturned. “What if he’s dead?” The subsequent image shows her pet peeking into the panel; the accompanying text reads, “Oliver (very much alive).” It’s one thing to read a memoir that breaks down episodes with the benefit of time and knowledge; it’s a completely different experience to see someone living through their depression while hanging on for dear life in “anxie-tea” cups. Readers who hold season passes to Anxietyland will be able to laugh along with the author, but this book will also benefit those coming to terms with a new or future anxiety diagnosis. These readers may, for the first time, be able to put their swirling emotions into a tangible context that makes more sense to them and others. That’s the beauty of Correll’s memoir: The book provides a comical medium lens that can open doors to understanding—rather than a door to the house of horrors.
A memoir for those who want to laugh through the free fall of their own emotional roller coaster.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781668004159
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
A concise personal and scholarly history that avoids academic jargon as it illuminates emotional truths.
The Harvard historian and Texas native demonstrates what the holiday means to her and to the rest of the nation.
Initially celebrated primarily by Black Texans, Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when a Union general arrived in Galveston to proclaim the end of slavery with the defeat of the Confederacy. If only history were that simple. In her latest, Gordon-Reed, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and numerous other honors, describes how Whites raged and committed violence against celebratory Blacks as racism in Texas and across the country continued to spread through segregation, Jim Crow laws, and separate-but-equal rationalizations. As Gordon-Reed amply shows in this smooth combination of memoir, essay, and history, such racism is by no means a thing of the past, even as Juneteenth has come to be celebrated by all of Texas and throughout the U.S. The Galveston announcement, notes the author, came well after the Emancipation Proclamation but before the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Though Gordon-Reed writes fondly of her native state, especially the strong familial ties and sense of community, she acknowledges her challenges as a woman of color in a state where “the image of Texas has a gender and a race: “Texas is a White man.” The author astutely explores “what that means for everyone who lives in Texas and is not a White man.” With all of its diversity and geographic expanse, Texas also has a singular history—as part of Mexico, as its own republic from 1836 to 1846, and as a place that “has connections to people of African descent that go back centuries.” All of this provides context for the uniqueness of this historical moment, which Gordon-Reed explores with her characteristic rigor and insight.
A concise personal and scholarly history that avoids academic jargon as it illuminates emotional truths.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63149-883-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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