Search results: 14 results for “by Sherronda J. Brown”
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14 results
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Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture
by Sherronda J. Brown
$20.95For readers of Ace and Belly of the Beast: A Black queer feminist exploration of asexuality--and an incisive interrogation of the sex-obsessed culture that invisibilizes and ignores asexual and A-spec identity.
Everything you know about sex and asexuality is (probably) wrong.
The notion that everyone wants sex--and that we all have to have it--is false. It’s intertwined with our ideas about capitalism, race, gender, and queerness. And it impacts the most marginalized among us. For asexual folks, it means that ace and A-spec identity is often defined by a queerness that’s not queer enough, seen through a lens of perceived lack: lack of pleasure, connection, joy, maturity, and even humanity.
In this exploration of what it means to be Black and asexual in America today, Sherronda J. Brown offers new perspectives on asexuality. She takes an incisive look at how anti-Blackness, white supremacy, patriarchy, heteronormativity, and capitalism enact harm against asexual people, contextualizing acephobia within a racial framework in the first book of its kind. Brown advocates for the “A” in LGBTQIA+, affirming that to be asexual is to be queer--despite the gatekeeping and denial that often says otherwise.
With chapters on desire, f*ckability, utility, refusal, and possibilities, Refusing Compulsory Sexuality discusses topics of deep relevance to ace and a-spec communities. It centers the Black asexual experience--and demands visibility in a world that pathologizes and denies asexuality, denigrates queerness, and specifically sexualizes Black people.
A necessary and unapologetic reclamation, Refusing Compulsory Sexuality is smart, timely, and an essential read for asexuals, aromantics, queer readers, and anyone looking to better understand sexual politics in America. -
PRE-ORDER: The Body Losing Its Borders
PRE-ORDER: The Body Losing Its Borders
$18.95The Body Losing Its Borders is a debut collection shaped by the convergence of profound personal loss and a world rapidly shifting around it. Written across the politically volatile years surrounding the poet’s brother’s cancer diagnosis, these poems trace the disorientation and transformation that follow grief’s arrival.
Against this stands a country in fracture—women’s bodily autonomy is increasingly under threat, and Black communities are organizing in response to escalating state violence. These poems inhabit that simultaneity, navigating histories both inherited and self-forged as the poet works to untangle the gnarled roots of race, love, violence, and family.
Told through a Black feminist lens, the collection explores the ways we learn to survive what attempts to undo us, and how we come into our own power in the process. With a voice that is clear-eyed, assured, and deeply attentive, The Body Losing Its Borders charts the ongoing work of becoming: not despite the world’s pressures, but through them.
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PRE-ORDER: Life is a K Drama: A Heartfelt Slow-Burn Contemporary RomCom from a Duo of Bestselling Authors
PRE-ORDER: Life is a K Drama: A Heartfelt Slow-Burn Contemporary RomCom from a Duo of Bestselling Authors
$29.00A heartfelt, interracial, contemporary romance debut--and a love letter to K dramas--featuring a single mom whose chance to turn her neighborhood restaurant into a household name is upended by an unexpected spark with a swoon-worthy Korean business magnate, for fans of Kennedy Ryan, Tia Williams, and Susan Lee.
Keisha Thomson loves K-Dramas, but she never thought her life would turn into one. Keisha is a 37-year-old, divorced mom of her beloved autistic son, Kai, and the ambitious owner of True Soul, a Harlem soul-food restaurant. Set between Harlem and Seoul, the novel follows bold and pragmatic Keisha, charming yet duty-bound Han Seojun, and the viral red velvet cake that brings them together. What begins as a cultural and culinary clash becomes a whirlwind romance that upends everything they thought they knew about love, ambition, and what it means to put yourself first.
Life is a K Drama brings together Sherri Shepherd and Jayci Lee's complementary voices to create something truly fresh. Part escapism and part self-discovery, it’s for anyone who’s ever rebuilt themselves from scratch and for readers who crave joy that feels earned and real. With shades of Tia William’s Seven Days in June and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game, it’s a sweeping, cinematic love story that glows with humor, heart, and hard-won hope. Importantly, it’s not just a romance between Keisha and Seojun, it’s also a love story about family, food, and culture.
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PRE-ORDER: Black Women Rising: A Joyful Self-Care Guide for Liberation & Healing
PRE-ORDER: Black Women Rising: A Joyful Self-Care Guide for Liberation & Healing
$30.00Weaving ancestral wisdom with contemporary insight, Black Women Rising speaks directly to Black women’s lived realities of racial trauma, chronic stress, care fatigue, and resilience through a wholistic lens.
Filling a long-standing gap in the self-help and wellness market, Black Women Rising is a culturally grounded, deeply resonant guide created specifically for Black women seeking balance, purpose, and grounding in perilous times. This bold, African-centered book arrives at a moment of profound urgency. Informed by the authors’ expertise in African-centered social work and trauma-informed psychotherapy, each chapter brings to life one of the 18 Principles—rooted in Ma’at and the Nguzo Saba (Kwanzaa)—and closes with an action-oriented exercise readers can immediately apply.
Moving beyond reflection to action, this book offers clear pathways to healing and sustained liberation. Positioned at the intersection of race, gender, and mental health, the book meets a growing demand for self-care that is culturally intentional and affirming. With far-reaching impact in wellness, mental health, and social justice spaces, giving Black women a self-help book that sees and supports their capacity to rise and thrive individually and in community.
Black Women Rising positions healing as sacred and care as a powerful force for renewal and transformation, making it a timely, standout title in wellness, mental health, and cultural nonfiction.
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PRE-ORDER: Pick It Up and Take a Spin
PRE-ORDER: Pick It Up and Take a Spin
$19.99Jabari Jumps meets The Magical Yet in this infectiously optimistic and rhythmic picture book that will inspire children to give it a whirl and try again (and again).
A little girl loves to watch the big kids play hula hoop. She wants nothing more than to sway and swirl like them one day.
So, she picks one up, gives it a whirl… and the hoop falls to the ground before she knows it.
Thwump! Clatter clatter!
And even though she picks it up repeatedly, she can’t seem to get the hoop to whirl. Then something magical happens on the last try that changes her forever.
This sweet picture book is perfect for anyone with a dream who is determined to never give up.* Heartwarming Message: Detailing the importance of persistence and resilience, this story encourages children not to give up on a goal only because it’s difficult at first.
* Classic and Colorful Illustrations bring its readers in and capture the charm of childhood.
* Perfect for Read-Aloud: Complete with sounds of the hoola hoop, optimistic tone, and rhythmic text! -
PRE-ORDER: More Than an Athlete: The Next Generation
PRE-ORDER: More Than an Athlete: The Next Generation
$19.95Originally published in 2005, former NBA star Etan Thomas’s first poetry collection defies the stereotype of the apolitical athlete; featuring brand-new poems by Thomas and his son―and University of Dayton basketball star―Malcolm Thomas
RETIRED NBA STAR, AUTHOR, AND OUTSPOKEN POLITICAL ACTIVIST, Etan Thomas is more than an athlete. In this, his first collection of poems―originally published in 2005 and reissued here with many new poems―the former center for the NBA’s Washington Wizards defies the stereotype of the apolitical athlete, and plants his roots in his budding literary career. With the conviction of a Bill Russell, and the poetic finesse of Muhammad Ali, Thomas takes on controversial topics such as the Death Penalty, the GOP, and racism.
This fiery poet approaches his work fearlessly, writing in the strong, historical lineage of his literary elders Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez, and in the tradition of more contemporary poets Ras Baraka, Tony Medina, and asha bandele. More Than an Athlete is not just a book of poetry; it’s a statement about new generations not being confined to a box, a definition, or a label. Some people play ball, and some people write poems. Etan Thomas has mastered the art of both.
The reimagined 2027 edition features brand-new poems by Thomas as well as his son Malcolm, who is following in his father’s footsteps on the court as a collegiate athlete, and on―and off―the page as a poet and activist.
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PRE-ORDER: Lonesome Holler: A Novel
PRE-ORDER: Lonesome Holler: A Novel
$28.99From the author of the acclaimed novel, House of Cotton, comes an electric, haunting new Southern noir following the residents of Better Tomorrow Trailer Park in the aftermath of a gruesome murder.
Summer ’97. Deadly sins. Misguided obsessions.
When Better Tomorrow Trailer Park’s owner, Joe Candle, is found nailed to a cross in the center of the lot, the police have one question for the park’s eccentric residents: Who killed Candle?
No one is safe from suspicion. Not the pretty, calf-eyed cashier with a shadowed past, or the barber and his strange, altered demeanor, or the young son of a cop who harbors a volcanic temper.
As the investigation begins and satanic panic grips this small town in the heart of Appalachia, the low-grade paranoia spreads beyond the borders of the park. With the arrival of a lone, mysterious detective, a darker plot is soon unearthed. The questions that arise threaten the very existence of Better Tomorrow, and the community is tested to its breaking point.
Thundering towards the dreaded summer solstice, Lonesome Holler is a beautifully written exploration of loneliness, a blue-tuned elegy for community, and a comedic, devastating ode to the South.
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PRE-ORDER: Funked Around, Found Out
PRE-ORDER: Funked Around, Found Out
$30.00A wild, rollicking, firsthand account of the good ole days of funk from Bootsy Collins, the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bass guitarist for James Brown, George Clinton, and Parliament-Funkadelic. Funky foreword courtesy of Snoop Dogg.
He’s a bona fide funk legend, a rhinestone-clad style icon, and arguably one of the best bassists to ever live. (At least, according to Rolling Stone.) His career has spanned five decades: from rising to stardom playing alongside James Brown; to setting the bar, the groove, and the look of Parliament-Funkadelic; to collaborating with today’s most innovative and beloved musicians, like Anderson .Paak, Snoop Dogg, and Bruno Mars. Bootsy Collins has more than a few stories to tell.
He is no stranger to the spotlight, and tales of his escapades are whispered among music nerds and the general public. Yet Bootsy’s story has never been put on the page.
Now, in his own words — “the straight up, real deal, if I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’, and I ain’t ready to go yet”— Bootsy is ready to share with fans legendary stories about:
* the ins and outs of his three-decade relationship with mentor and sometimes tormentor James Brown—including dropping acid with the Godfather of Soul himself
* how a one-night stand almost resulted in him being killed by a member of Florida’s Black Mafia
* when he and the Parliament-Funkadelic crew were mistaken for a group of escaped convicts, and during a detailed cavity search, the LAPD found George Clinton’s a**-stash
* his collaborative and tumultuous relationship with funk legend George Clinton
* eventually getting clean and becoming the favorite OG for a new crop of musicians and artistsBootsy’s story is full of heart, humor, joy, sorrow, and a whooooole lot of funk. True to its iconic creator, Funked Around, Found Out includes psychedelic photos, costumes, guitars, and other surprises that are as closely associated with Bootsy as his thumping grooves. Music fans, pop culture aficionados, and other acolytes will rejoice.
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PRE-ORDER: Jubilee Foster Is Totally Fine
PRE-ORDER: Jubilee Foster Is Totally Fine
$19.99From NAACP Image Award–nominated author Elise Bryant comes a tender, funny novel following a type-A teen whose meticulously coordinated life unravels when she develops a chronic illness.
Jubilee Foster is busy. Between caring for her two younger siblings while her single dad is working, maintaining her perfect GPA, and volunteering at her beloved local community center, she doesn’t have time for trivial things like hobbies or sleep.
And that’s just the way Jubilee likes it. When her to-do list is endless and her color-coded planner is full, it’s easier to ignore the glaring fractures in her life—like her mom’s abandonment, or that her community center is on the brink of closing down for good. Or the reappearance of Neal, her childhood friend turned nemesis, and all of the annoying, distracting feelings he brings.
But then Jubilee starts breaking out in mysterious hives, and her ability to be a perfect student, daughter, sister, and friend begins to fray. As her life buckles under symptoms and side effects, Jubilee will have to tackle the most difficult task on her to-do list yet: accepting help.
Critically acclaimed author Elise Bryant returns with a love letter to eldest daughters, recovering people pleasers, and those managing chronic illnesses in desperate search for the care they deserve. -
PRE-ORDER: small life: A Novel
PRE-ORDER: small life: A Novel
$25.00A globe-spanning jigsaw puzzle of a novel about what it is to be human during this nervous, catastrophic moment in time.
Dionne Brand’s brief, powerful small life has the dazzling, hypnotic rhythm of a series of waves, tossing together multiple narrators and stories in time and space. The novel works through affective momentum, through gathering velocity, through multiplying and quickening voices and stories. None of these vividly alive characters know one another, but all exist inside this nervous moment in time.
Throughout the novel, characters’ voices recur in random ways, each around their own “small life.” Each person is in the middle of an action or a demand or a situation or a misunderstanding, and each is attempting to find a life, to know a life, to navigate the precarity of life. These lives are unfolding anywhere in the world: leaving the outskirts of Cartagena, working the streets of Madrid, caught in a toxic flood, hanging on to the edge of a boat in the Mediterranean, cleaning a stall in a North American airport, setting off to work on an oil platform, refusing eviction from an apartment. Their stories build and braid through inference, familiarity, and emotion―shock, realization, small joy―offering glimpses of the innermost workings of human beings in our contemporary, catastrophic zeitgeist.
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Loving Corrections (Emergent Strategy Series, 12)
Loving Corrections (Emergent Strategy Series, 12)
by adrienne maree brown
Sold outNew York Times-bestselling author adrienne maree brown knows we need each other more than ever, and offers “loving corrections”: a roadmap towards collective power, righting wrongs, and true belonging
This selection of prescient, compassionate essays explores patterns we engage in that are rooted in limited thinking. Through a lens of “loving correction” rather than mere critique, author adrienne maree brown helps us reimagine how to hold ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities accountable by setting clear boundaries, engaging in reflection, and nurturing honest relationships.
Loving Corrections is divided into two sections, with the first portion featuring new essays including “A Word for White People” and “Relinquishing the Patriarchy” and writing on topics like moving from fragility to fortitude, disability, and navigating critique within activist communities. The second section expands and updates pieces from brown's popular monthly column “Murmurations” in YES! Magazine that explore accountability—within oneself and community—with depth, inventiveness, and empathy.
Along with allowing us more authentic access to ourselves and to each other, the “corrections” in the book’s title are intended to explore and break identity-based patterns including white supremacy, fragility, patriarchy, and ableism. brown also offers practical guidance on how to apologize and be accountable from our nuanced positions of power, history, and resources.
Building on her previous work—especially Holding Change and We Will Not Cancel Us—brown reminds us how much we need each other: "It is only through relationship that we learn how to be, understand our impact on others and explore small shifts that may yield remarkable collective change."
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Portrait of Devotion: The Spiritual Life of Alice Coltrane Swamini Turiyasangitananda
Portrait of Devotion: The Spiritual Life of Alice Coltrane Swamini Turiyasangitananda
Sold out“The life and teachings of Swamini Turiyasangitananda are precious spiritual jewels waiting to be discovered. This book reveals many inspiring and unknown parts of Swamini’s life. Numerous personal accounts of divine healings enhance her quiet yet determined focus to be of service locally and globally. Perhaps most moving is this servitor’s willingness to take on herself, the effects of others’ negative karma. Portrait of Devotion is a doorway that leads to the life of a modern saint. If we pass through this door, there is a good chance that our own life will change for the better.” — Purushottama Hickson, H.Y.T.
“A.C. Swami Turiyasangitananda is a bhakti yogi who practiced karma yoga, a spiritual guru who, with dedication, followed the footsteps of her Satguru. She was a living example of true mental detachment ...while still physically being in the midst of society. She is spiritually evolved in the truest sense.” — Sai Ram Iyer of Mumbai
“Many of us are aware of the musical talents of Alice Coltrane, a gifted pianist, harpist and composer. In this beautiful book, the author takes us on a journey of the spiritual transformation of the artist, Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, who became a teacher of life with feminine strength and conviction. The author brings out what a pure relationship is like between a Guru and student, and most important how a spiritual journey may be straight and narrow at any moment, but that moment will pass on to the next moment of joy. Lastly, the story and lessons of Clarity, Compassion, and Courage, which Alice taught day in and day out to her students will call us to embrace our own spiritual journey.”
— Stephen Rosen, Ph.D
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