
Breathe
A Letter to My Sons
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Narrated by:
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Imani Perry
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By:
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Imani Perry
About this listen
2020 Chautauqua Prize Finalist
2020 NAACP Image Award Nominee - Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction)
Best-of Lists: Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 (Kirkus Reviews); 25 Can't-Miss Books of 2019 (The Undefeated)
Explores the terror, grace, and beauty of coming of age as a Black person in contemporary America and what it means to parent our children in a persistently unjust world.
Emotionally raw and deeply reflective, Imani Perry issues an unflinching challenge to society to see Black children as deserving of humanity. She admits fear and frustration for her African-American sons in a society that is increasingly racist and at times seems irredeemable. However, as a mother, feminist, writer, and intellectual, Perry offers an unfettered expression of love - finding beauty and possibility in life - and she exhorts her children and their peers to find the courage to chart their own paths and find steady footing and inspiration in Black tradition.
Perry draws upon the ideas of figures such as James Baldwin, W. E. B. DuBois, Emily Dickinson, Toni Morrison, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Ida B. Wells. She shares vulnerabilities and insight from her own life and from encounters in places as varied as the West Side of Chicago; Birmingham, Alabama; and New England prep schools.
With original art for the cover by Ekua Holmes, Breathe offers a broader meditation on race, gender, and the meaning of a life well-lived and is also an unforgettable lesson in Black resistance and resilience.
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Critic reviews
“Breathe is a parent’s unflinching demand, born of inherited trauma and love, for her children’s right simply to be possible.” (The New York Times)
“In Breathe, Perry offers a lyrical meditation that connects a painful, proud history of African American struggle with a clarion call for present-day action to protect, defend, and celebrate the promise of the next generation.” (Stacey Abrams, founder and chair of Fair Fight Action, Inc.)
“Breathe: A Letter to My Sons is deeply cathartic and resonant for parents attempting to raise their children with intention and integrity. Imani Perry shows deep compassion for both parents and children while incisively underlining the realities of raising Black boys in a country that will inherently betray them. It is a book filled with love and insight for difficult times.” (Tarana Burke)
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Story
The twin acts of singing and fighting for freedom have been inseparable in African American history. May We Forever Stand tells an essential part of that story. With lyrics penned by James Weldon Johnson and music composed by his brother Rosamond, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was embraced almost immediately as an anthem that captured the story and the aspirations of black Americans. Since the song's creation, it has been adopted by the NAACP and performed by countless artists in times of both crisis and celebration, cementing its place in African American life.
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Detailed history of Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing
- By beotherworldly on 07-30-24
By: Imani Perry
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Black in Blues
- How a Color Tells the Story of My People
- By: Imani Perry
- Narrated by: Imani Perry
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout history, the concept of Blackness has been remarkably intertwined with another color: blue. In daily life, it is evoked in countless ways. Blue skies and blue water offer hope for that which lies beyond the current conditions. But blue is also the color of deep melancholy and heartache, echoing Louis Armstrong’s question, “What did I do to be so Black and blue?” In this book, celebrated author Imani Perry uses the world’s favorite color as a springboard for a riveting emotional, cultural, and spiritual journey.
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So many lessons in this book
- By Christina the Teacher on 02-04-25
By: Imani Perry
What listeners say about Breathe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- ggirl
- 01-14-20
Great Job
sometimes hard to focus on subject as narrator jumped around often in her train of thought
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- Rob
- 06-18-22
eye opening truth
thank you so much for sharing these wonderful and candid insights. I hope someday a change will come
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- Anne-genevieve Bacon
- 05-22-21
A treasure
While this book is written for her sons, it feels like a letter we all need. It is instructive, compassionate, fierce, philosophical, and practical. As a white Mom, it deepened my understanding of and compassion for the differences in the types of conversations Black and other Moms of color are having, and gave me insight into how to speak to my own white son about the work we still need to do. And as a Mom more generally, I hope some day I can gift my own child even a fraction of the wisdom Ms. Perry offers her sons here. Truly this is a treasure.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Treesey
- 10-08-19
Delightful peek into the heart & soul of a mother
It felt as if I had stumbled upon a private journal left open for my prying eyes. I found a quiet corner & listened. I lost myself a few times as I reflected on my own experiences and I went on a little bit of an emotional roller coaster but in the end I felt lifted and so full of love. A beautiful letter written from the heart & soul of a mother to every child. Thanks for sharing.
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3 people found this helpful
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- C.C.
- 02-03-21
Wonderful.
Deep. Imani Perry told her story in an open and honest way. Her son's should know know they have a mother that cares deeply for them. As a black women I can relate to so many topics that was presented in this book.
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- Imani Cheers
- 01-16-20
Outstanding testimony!
Such a beautifully written and narrated book. Imani Perry is superb in her analysis and commentary. A must read.
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- CatieBowles
- 07-06-21
Breathtaking
Although I know that this book isn't really for me, I'm so grateful to have had the chance read it. There is paradigm shifting perspective and powerful story.
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