This Thread of Gold

All content within this book includes all races and as a white woman, it has opened my eyes and made me more thoughtful about changes we can make. This is not a light-hearted read but is an important read.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

We meet a lot of remarkable women here, many of whom I hadn't heard of, starting with American quilt maker Harriet Powers, a freed woman who had been born enslaved, who crucially described to the buyer of one of them the history of every block and then, ahving taught herself to read, left behind a letter describing her other work. This "thread of gold" is pulled out through the book, connecting women and their stories backwards and forward through history. White covers such a wide range of women in this inspiring book, bringing in figures such as the Kenyan eco-feminis Wangari Maathai and the French Caribbean video game designer Muriel Traumis, as well as people who are more well-known such as Michelle Obama and Hattie McDaniel. And while it calls on Black women to develop and know themselves, it does so from a position of community and support and asking women to be flexible, appreciative of themselves and their foremothers and resilient through "a thousand small steps".

We need to look after ourselves and we need to look out for each other. Not by treating our friends to champagne or gift boxes, although there is a place for that, but rather by the simple act of holding each other, lifting each other up and working to dismantle the systems of oppression that exhaust, demoralise and overexert us. We need to collectively create the conditions that allow Black people to thrive.

She finishes the book, having discussed what her grandmother and mother gave to her and what she learned from them, with a glorious list of her wishes for her daughter, again steeped in community and organisation as well as self-development. An excellent, empowering and inspiring book for everyone, and a wonderful resource for Black women in particular.