Between us: a reckoning with my mother / Jason Reynolds -- This joy I have / Austin Channing Brown -- Dirty business: the messy affair of rejecting shame / Tanya Denise Fields -- My head is a part of my body and other notes on crazy / Kiese Makeba Laymon -- The wisdom of process / Prentis Hemphill -- Love lifted me: subverting shame narratives and legitimizing vulnerability as a mechanism for healing women in the black church / Tracey Michae'l Lewis Giggetts -- Never too much / Marc Lamont Hill -- We are human too: on blackness, vulnerability, disability, and the work ahead / Keah Brown -- What's in a name? / Lovvie Ajayi Jones -- The blues of vulnerability: love and healing black youth / Shawn A. Ginwright -- Filling every page with joy: rewriting trauma and shame / Kaia Naadira -- Honoring our stories, transforming our pain / Deran Young -- Running out of gas / Sonya Renee Taylor -- My journey: vulnerability, rage, and being black in the art world / by Irene Antonia Diane Reece -- Unlearning shame and remembering love / Yolo Akili Robinson -- Hurt people hurt people / Laverne Cox -- Black surrender within the ivory tower / Jessica J. Williams -- Steps to being whole, on your terms / Akido D. Bethea -- To you: Vulnerable mother, a choreo-essay / Imani Perry -- Where the truth rests / Tarana Burke

"It started as a text between two friends. Tarana Burke, founder of the 'me too' movement, texted researcher and writer, Brené Brown, to see if she was free to jump on a call. Brené assumed that Tarana wanted to talk about wallpaper. They had been trading home decorating inspiration boards in their last text conversation so Brené started scrolling to find her latest Pinterest pictures when the phone rang. But it was immediately clear to Brené that the conversation wasn't going to be about wallpaper. Tarana's hello was serious and she hesitated for a bit before saying, "Brené, you know your work affected me so deeply. It's been a huge gift in my life. But as a Black woman, I've sometimes had to feel like I have to contort myself to fit into some of your words. The core of it rings so true for me, but the application has been harder." Brené replied, "I'm so glad we're talking about this. It makes sense to me. Especially in terms of vulnerability. How do you take the armor off in a country where you're not physically or emotionally safe?" Long pause. "That's why I'm calling," said Tarana. "What do you think about a working together on a book about the Black experience with vulnerability and shame resilience?" There was no hesitation. Burke and Brown are the perfect pair to usher in this stark, potent collection of essays on Black shame and healing (and contribute their own introductions to the work). Along with the anthology contributors, they create a space to recognize and process the trauma of white supremacy, a space to be vulnerable and affirm the fullness of Black love and Black life"--