Doing Nothing Is No Longer an Option

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5

Doing Nothing Is No Longer an Option is the story of Jenny's journey of becoming involved in antiracism work. It reads like a memoir but has enough practical advice included to leave you feeling inspired and empowered to take another step (or three) on your own justice-walking path as well.

I did not realize before I started reading this book that Jenny is the woman mentioned in Austin Channing Brown's book I'm Still Here. When I came across that story again in this book, this time told from Jenny's perspective, the connection between the two books and their authors was a happy discovery.

This is a great book and a quick read (4-6 hours of reading, perhaps).

Here are a few quotes from the book:

“He was afraid of not doing it perfectly, so he did nothing at all. Except it wasn't nothing. His inaction was a powerful act of centering his own comfort, his own timeline, and his own agenda over what justice required of him in that moment.”

“We have gotten so good at finding common ground that we have little practice at what to do when a person's experience confuses us or is one we haven't had. It's not a problem of finding enough in common. It's an issue of getting curious about what we don't have in common and then believing those differences are real.”

“Writer and activist Audre Lorde laid it out quite simply when she said, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even if her shackles are very different from my own.”“

There were so many other passages I highlighted as I read that it was difficult to choose a few short ones to share here. I recommend picking up a copy so you can read it in full yourself. The book is reflective, challenging and inspiring - well worth the read.

The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of a full 5 stars is because there were a couple of chapters that focused primarily on raising children. I don't have children or spend much time around children, so while those sections seemed sound and good, they were just less relevant for me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.