This Will Be My Undoing

Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America

By: Morgan Jerkins

Narrated by: Morgan Jerkins

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of the fiercest critics writing today, Morgan Jerkins' highly anticipated collection of linked essays interweaves her incisive commentary on pop culture, feminism, Black history, misogyny, and racism with her own experiences to confront the very real challenges of being a Black woman today - perfect for fans of Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist, Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me, and Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists.

Morgan Jerkins is only in her 20s, but she has already established herself as an insightful, brutally honest writer who isn't afraid of tackling tough, controversial subjects. In This Will Be My Undoing, she takes on perhaps one of the most provocative contemporary topics: What does it mean to "be" - to live as, to exist as - a Black woman today? This is a book about Black women, but it's necessary listening for all Americans.

Doubly disenfranchised by race and gender, often deprived of a place within the mostly White mainstream feminist movement, Black women are objectified, silenced, and marginalized, with devastating consequences, in ways both obvious and subtle that are rarely acknowledged in our country's larger discussion about inequality. In This Will Be My Undoing, Jerkins becomes both narrator and subject to expose the social, cultural, and historical story of Black female oppression that influences the Black community as well as the White, male-dominated world at large.

Whether she's writing about Sailor Moon; Rachel Dolezal; the stigma of therapy; her complex relationship with her own physical body; the pain of dating when men say they don't "see color"; being a Black visitor in Russia; the specter of "the fast-tailed girl" and the paradox of Black female sexuality; or disabled Black women in the context of the "Black Girl Magic" movement, Jerkins is compelling and revelatory.

©2018 Morgan Jerkins (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"This raw, compelling memoir makes for an outstanding audiobook, and the author's narration is well done. The depth of her intelligence is immediately obvious, but what's more riveting is her brutal honesty and her willingness to speak her truth--both beautiful and messy.... This book is a must-listen - both funny and heartbreaking - but more importantly, it is an eye-opening call to action." (AudioFile)

Beautiful. Brutal. Compelling. Awakening, even if you think you're woke.

Brilliant. Strong. Concentrated. Powerful. Not light reading. And might change your life. Rethinking my own life and experiences with a different outlook. Better for it. Thank you.

Wonderfully Written!!

I can’t say enough about this book!! Empowering, sad, real and raw! I found myself snapping my fingers, shaking my head, holding my chest and agreeing with every single line! Thank you for this!!

Amazing. Poignant. Provocative.

This is my first read from Morgan Jerkins. It will not be my last. Her story was written from a vulnerable place and took incredible bravery to share.
From her words I found validation of my experiences and beauty in ALL of me!! Simply amazing.

Brilliant

A journey of growth and discovery. A must read for girls that feel awkward in their world.

LOVE!!!!! She could not be more different from me

But I have never felt so represented by a book!!
I am not young, black, smart enough to go to an Ivy, an "up and comer" or the daughter of divorced parents but I have never felt my feelings so voiced. The fact she actually reads her own work makes it even more powerful.
I remember the relentless pushing through high school with a Trident missile's targeting on getting out of my hometown! The anxiety of college where the heady knowledge, desire to study, learning, meeting inspirational leaders all could all be instantly drowned in a "does he like me/why doesn't he like me" panic attack. Parents and environment who instilled an incredibly toxic and out of synch view of sexuality.
Speaking of sex- some essays in this book are incredibly raw and honest. If you can not deal with a woman having a powerful sex drive or explicitly discussed medical issues this is NOT the book for you. However, listening to one chapter in this book is the first time I ever got a physical reaction where I wanted to cross my legs- like guys do when they see a baseball player catch a ball in the berries.
I loved it so much I also bought the paperback!

Deep, insightful, explanatory, expressive

Thank you Morgan Jenkins for writing this book. I loved every single minute of it.

Awesome

Great read. it'll make you cry and think about your own experiences in this life.

Raw, honest, real

Morgan gives an unapologetic, cutting, and cathartic experience of being a black woman in a white patriarchal society. It hurts, it stings, but it is the most real thing I have listened to in many a year.
The book is not laced with much hope, but I don’t believe that was the point; just taking a raw gaze at black feminism for what it is. What we do with it, is up to us.
I thank Morgan for her encouragement to survive as we always have, and to thrive with the gifts we have always had, too, as well as thrive by not picking up society’s burdens.
Very, very well done. M

Powerful, insightful, and deeply engaging exploration of race and gender

In this remarkable memoir, Morgan Jerkins narrates her journey from being a young Black girl who desperately desires to be white and to merit male attention to being a badass Black feminist who is at home in her own skin. In a manner that epitomizes intersectionality at its best, Jerkins utilizes her positionality as a Black woman to illuminate the ways in which sexism and racism intersect to impact the lives of Black women on a quotidian basis, not just in the US but across the globe. Her middle-class upbringing, Ivy League education, and global experiences provide a unique lens through which to view how privilege and oppression coexist in complex ways for Black women and girls. Jerkins manages to combine astute analysis of critical race and gender studies with highly transparent reflections upon her own experiences. She bravely delves into details about female body image, health, and sexuality that few writers would. At times, I must admit it was too much for some of my southern Protestant impulses. But Jerkins’ sharing is neither narcissistic nor a tool meant only to shock readers. Her descriptions of her embodied experience are always connected to larger social issues, demonstrating how the personal and the political collide in deeply intimate ways.

Jerkins’ narrative deserves every bit of the accolades (and more) that have been given to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me.” Indeed, the two are excellent companions to read together.

Captivating and Illuminating

Beautifully written and performed. I look forward to reading more from Morgan Jenkins, she’s brilliant.