In We’re Going to Need More Wine, Gabrielle Union tells personal and true stories of power, race, gender, feminism, and fame.
Gabrielle tackles a range of experiences which includes social acceptance, bullying, sex miseducation, growing up in white California suburbia and spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska. Coping with emotional attachments, puberty, drug abuse and the divorce of her parents. She also discusses beauty standards and competition among women in Hollywood .
With utter genuineness, Gabrielle uncovers her complex and courageous life of self-discovery with incredible poise and brutal honesty. Throughout the book, she compels us to be ethical and empathetic; more particularly to have compassion for victims of sexual violence. She reminds us of the importance of confidence, self-awareness, and the power of sharing truth, laughter, and support.
In 5 points, here’s what you should look out for in We’re Going to Need More Wine
1. Family and close friends call Gabrielle Nickie.
In the first chapters of the memoir, young Gabrielle who is referred to as, Nickie, a nickname extracted from her name, Monique, talks about how her nickname encouraged being called a nigger in her city, Pleasanton, Chicago, a neighbourhood to which the family relocated from Nebraska for work reasons. Being called Nickie Nigger caused her to stay alert for what she called the Black Pitfalls. I encourage you to pick up the book to know what Black Pitfalls are because I ain’t telling you about them.
Gabrielle also writes about how to get over a break-up with red wine and tequila. She explains that red wine is great because it’s like a big, warm and fuzzy hug. While tequila gets you right, makes you forget about your woes and gives you the courage to have a F-you attitude. She, however, warns never to mix the two. But she failed to take her own advice when writing this book as she gave out warm hugs and straight talks about life and self-love.
2. Being the only Black girl in the room was rough.
In chapters like Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Pleasanton, Black Girl Blues and Code 261, Nickie takes us on a journey through her childhood and how she felt in her own skin growing in a predominately white environment. She talks about the pep talk every black parent gives which says “you’re gonna have to be bigger, badder, better, just to be considered equal.” According to the book, this talk instils a go-getting attitude in kids and make them develop a “never good enough” attitude.
As a kid, once you have that pep talk, if you’re not as or eight times as good as, you feel like you’re less than. As a reader, thinking about growing up I realise that this talk and its consequent attitude is not only peculiar to Nickie or kids in Pleasanton, but also to Africans. When my parents say go get this, I know that they expect that I get it with a star and never back down. Such talk has its good and bad which you will discover in Nickie’s book.
The Hollywood star also talks about how it was tough for her to fit into basic school as she was the only black kid. She discussed her insecurities about being pretty for a black girl, her hair at sleepovers with her white friends, who would dance with her at school dances and, who would be a boyfriend to the black girl. She also talked about how challenging it was relating with new black girls in school after she had created a comfort zone with her white counterparts.
3. Gabrielle had her most traumatic life moment.
Like in a therapy, Gabrielle is candid about her rape experience, about which she detailed in the book including accounts leading up to, during and after. She talks about how the experience made her feel at age 19 when it happened and how years later, it affected her daily dealings. She says: “Though people say things like, ‘I saw my life flash before my eyes,’ I can tell you that this didn’t happen to me. I didn’t see my life. I was just very much present at the scene, watching this man rape me with a gun to my head.”
We all respond to trauma differently and in the case of Nickie, she couldn’t believe she was actually being raped even while she being was raped. She even obeyed the commands of the rapist at the spot and gave it to him in the doggy style when he told her to turn over. Trauma is crazy! By the time she got her senses back, she attempted shooting him but missed.
What distinguishes We’re Going to Need More Wine is that you feel connected to the stories and Gabrielle, even if this is something you have not gone through personally. While the book is full of “just keep going sis” and be true to yourself moments, the tequila kicks in many times with her being absolutely factual about life.
4. Even Gabrielle feels blues about her career.
In the chapter Grown-A-s-Woman Blues, she talks about her careers woes. However, in the ever-evolving world, Gabrielle says she remains positive in her career despite getting into the industry at a quite late age.
5. Her honesty is impressive
Gabrielle talks about getting an ESSENCE award and in her speech she talks about how she feels jealous towards other actresses and how she’s rising above.
The way Gabrielle comes out honest in this book is just as she put it: “like one night out with someone you can be real with.” The book is an absolute must read to let you know that you are not alone in your life dramas.
It marvels me how Gabrielle could talk about feelings of inferiority as a black girl amidst white kids, how she ignored the next black girl at her school because she didn’t want to be associated with her and how she had her first sexual encounters, sneaking out of the home, etc. No one comes out to say things like these easily and I respect her doggedness for such act.
If there is a clean black girl book that anyone should read, this certainly qualifies as the one and encourage everyone to get a copy of the book for an enjoyable and illuminating literary experience.
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