Letters to the Sons of Society

A Father's Invitation to Love, Honesty, and Freedom

By: Shaka Senghor

Narrated by: Shaka Senghor

The New York Times bestselling author of Writing My Wrongs invites men everywhere on a journey of honesty and healing through this book of moving letters to his sons—one whom he is raising and the other whose childhood took place during Senghor's nineteen-year incarceration.

“A visceral and visual journey for the ages . . . the perfect road map for us to remove the barriers and obstacles against our true feelings.”—Kenya Barris, creator of black-ish

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022—Essence

Shaka Senghor has lived the life of two fathers. With his first son, Jay, born shortly after Senghor was incarcerated for second-degree murder, he experienced the regret of his own mistakes and the disconnection caused by a society that sees Black lives as disposable. With his second, Sekou, born after Senghor's release, he has experienced healing, transformation, intimacy, and the possibilities of a world where men and boys can openly show one another affection, support, and love.

In this collection of beautifully written letters to Jay and Sekou, Senghor traces his journey as a Black man in America and unpacks the toxic and misguided messages about masculinity, mental health, love, and success that boys learn from an early age. He issues a passionate call to all fathers and sons—fathers who don't know how to show their sons love, sons who are navigating a fatherless world, boys who have been forced to grow up before their time—to cultivate positive relationships with other men, seek healing, tend to mental health, grow from pain, and rewrite the story that has been told about them.

Letters to the Sons of Society is a soulful examination of the bond between father and sons, and a touchstone for anyone seeking a kinder, more just world.

Critic reviews

“If you want to peer into a heart, if you want a story of brokenness and healing and fury and redemption and humanity, if you want to envision a different, better way forward, Senghor’s letters are a beautiful place to begin.”—Chicago Tribune

“Letters to the Sons of Society is a visceral and visual journey for the ages. These beautifully written letters are intimate, transparent, and vulnerable. Shaka Senghor’s writing provides the perfect roadmap for us to remove the barriers and obstacles against our true feelings.”—Kenya Barris, creator of black-ish

“Shaka Senghor takes us on an awe-inspiring and liberatory journey that transcends words. His latest literary work, cast in letters to his sons, leads us through a depth of unmatched vulnerability and allows us the gift of seeing who we have the opportunity to become.”—Angela Rye, CEO of Impact Strategies and political analyst

“If we are going to heal our nation, we need to listen to voices like Shaka Senghor, who tells his truth about his amazing journey from incarceration to liberation, which means a lot more than just physical bars. Letters to the Sons of Society hits hard.”—Reginald Hudlin, producer and director

“Parenting and prison are never discussed together, but in his breakthrough new book, Shaka Senghor combines the two to produce a new understanding of both. In raising one son while in prison and a second as a free man, Senghor must confront his own life in order to explain it to his sons. In doing so, he delivers a masterpiece that will change the way you think and feel about almost everything.”—Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz

“As Black men, we just don’t talk about certain things—especially the pain that we carry when we feel we are falling short as fathers. Senghor courageously sheds light on topics that have almost never been discussed in public. The integrity and transparency found in Letters to the Sons of Society make it a book that everyone needs to read.”—Van Jones, author of Beyond the Messy Truth

Must read, incredible perspective!

Author reads his own story which makes this audible even more powerful. This book had me deeply connecting to something bigger, and thinking about our common human experiences and our common love. As a family lawyer and parenting coordinator we need more leaders in the area of trauma-informed care. But that doesn't just come through the scientific perspective. It must come from the human perspective. Shaka is a literary genius, and cuts through all divisive identities and view points to tell his story, and to offer hope. He transcends our time and we will be parenting differently in the future in part due to his willingness to go deep and to talk about taboo subjects, such as rape of children. He talks about how to coparent. He is an inspiring leader of our time!

Thank you Shaka Senghor!

Thank you for sharing your heartfelt words and brilliance. Your bravery, openness and commitment to lifting others is remarkable. Forever changed from your books. Tremendous respect🖤

Vulnerable and Profound

Shaka's words make you lean in hard to your feelings and traumas. He is a miracle. He is vulnerable. He is strength. He is a Phoenix. He is pure love.

Amazing Read

Every black male in the world should have this book as a guide to and through manhood. Every black father should read this book with their children.

Powerful on all levels!

There were so many meaningful messages within this book around love, parenting, emotions, understanding, racism, learning from life lessons and so much more. I recommend this book to everyone, so that you can be enlightened and encouraged to do better with yourself and those you love. About to listen again! Thanks!