We Live for the We

The Political Power of Black Motherhood

By: Dani McClain

Narrated by: Dani McClain

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A warm, wise, and urgent guide to parenting in uncertain times, from a longtime reporter on race, reproductive health, and politics.

In We Live for the We, first-time mother Dani McClain sets out to understand how to raise her daughter in what she, as a black woman, knows to be an unjust - even hostile - society. Black women are more likely to die during pregnancy or birth than any other race; black mothers must stand before television cameras telling the world that their slain children were human beings. What, then, is the best way to keep fear at bay and raise a child so she lives with dignity and joy?

McClain spoke with mothers on the front lines of movements for social, political, and cultural change who are grappling with the same questions. Following a child's development from infancy to the teenage years, We Live for the We touches on everything from the importance of creativity to building a mutually supportive community to navigating one's relationship with power and authority. It is an essential handbook to help us imagine the society we build for the next generation.

©2019 Dani McClain (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Dani McClain is one of the most lucid, insightful, and gifted critics working today: her work sings with eloquence and is driven by analytical fury. This is the book we parents need right now!" (Michael Eric Dyson)

"We Live for the We is a crucial chapter in the history of Black motherhood as a political act. Enslaved mothers taught their babies to read without being discovered, now Black mothers must teach our children to stay safe from police, from sexual predators, from racist teachers. McClain shows that we must be strategic with our rage and still vulnerable with our love - our political work requires this range. This text showcases the harsh realities of Black motherhood and the best solutions currently available, while pointing to the ways we must still change everything for the sake of our children." (dream hampton, writer, filmmaker, and organizer, and producer of Surviving R. Kelly)

"Dani McClain's We Live for the We is more than a reimagining of motherhood. It's an equally soulful and skillful immersion into the questions of how we go beyond survival in a nation intent on the suffering of Black mothers and their children. The book refuses to let us run, every paragraph seeking the contour of who we really are in the dark and how our children will be protected, loved, and tenderly allowed to fail and grow by parents willing to revise what we've all been taught. This is the rare book that will change lives and public policy." (Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir)

An Overdue Book!

I alternated between listening and reading the book. I initially downloaded the audiobook and by the end of the introduction I was ordering the book. It's easy to follow, both the audiobook and the hard copy. The content itself was cathartic for me; I share a lot of similarities with the author so it felt especially personal. I've been grappling with many of the same thoughts that Dani McClain so beautifully articulated and interrogated. This book, I think, will be a bit of an exhale for many black women and non-binary ppl who are currently or considering taking on mothering, and it will provide some resources to check out. For others, it will, at the very least, give you a lovingly glimpse into this big journey black ppl who mother have and continue to navigate.

The We

Each chapter is a different road in motherhood. It also makes thing make sense as a black mom, we do this for we, never just us.

Loved

I truly enjoyed this book. My oldest child was born the same year as the author’s and her struggles and thoughts mirror many of my own. It was inspiring to hear the many examples of Black motherhood.

Not what I expected

I rate it at 3 stars because the interviews were amazing; however, I would’ve liked for the story to flow better and not sound textbook like.

We Live for the We is fantastic, thought provoking and informative

This has been such a great audiobook. The chapters are unique to any other book around mothering. I could listen to it over and over as I find my own path through mothering. A read for all, opening your mind to black mothers lives and parenting the next generation.