Young has emotions, and he may have more than a touch of social anxiety. He is nervous and angst-ridden and smart enough to label his feelings…The strongest essays are those in which he embraces that voice—the uncertain one that uses humor to interact with a world that expects him to be far more self-assured than he feels. When writing in that register, Young shines with often sad commentary…Many readers will relate to these essays if they've ever struggled to find their authentic selves beneath the visage of pop-culture caricatures of who one should be: black cool, millennial chic, radical Afro-centric slam poet, good guy or hood gangsta. Unlike some of his fellow black male memoirists, Young has not ascended to the Ivy League or retreated entirely into a world of wealth and privilege. Young just wants to be himself, even if he is not yet quite sure of who that is.
The New York Times Book Review - Tressie McMillan Cottom
★ 01/21/2019
These darkly hilarious and forthcoming essays from Young, cofounder of social commentary blog Very Smart Brothas , center around the “perpetual surreality” of the African-American experience. For example, he writes with honesty and humor about his youthful worry that, if no white person called him the N word, his authenticity as a black man was in question. One of the funniest essays contains excerpts of his college-era poetry, often plagiarized from rap lyrics. In another, he recalls sneakily renting pornography as a teenager, feeling he was being watched by “my recently deceased aunt Toni, the first Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , Maya Angelou, and the ghost of that guy Morgan Freeman played in Glory .” He critiques toxic masculinity and admits to a major error in judgment: writing a “triflin’-ass” piece dismissing a rape victim’s critique of rape culture. He wants, he realized, not to be just a “decent” man, but a man “worthy” of friendship with the women in his life. Young uses pop culture references and personal stories to look at a life molded by structural racism, the joy of having a family that holds together in a crisis, and the thrill of succeeding against difficult odds. Young’s charm and wit make these essays a pleasure to read; his candid approach makes them memorable. (Mar.)
His essays are pointed, ruminative, often barbed and funny reflections on how the fact of his skin color has posed particular lifelong challenges, questions, and anxieties.” — “Weekend Edition,” NPR
“With candor, self-awareness and considerable humor, [Young] turns an unflinching eye on both himself and an American society constructed and sustained by racism.” — Washington Post
“The VerySmartBrothas.com cofounder and senior editor for The Root has already established himself as one of our most vibrant voices on race. Now comes his first book, a blazing memoir in essays.” — Entertainment Weekly , “20 Great New Books to Read this March”
“One of the freshest, most impor¬tant black voices on the internet.” — Mother Jones
“Authentic, keen, and touching . . . The beauty of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker is that Young never tries to make it easy for readers. . . this timely and powerful book. . . like the work of bell hooks and Roxane Gay, should be required reading.” — NPR
“A fascinating exploration of how race, class and gender, inform notions of black identity in American life [and] an astute critique of the contours along which black people survive the limitations of historic and systemic racism . . . language is itself a central character.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Readers who know Young’s work from the blog he co-founded, Very Smart Brothas, will recognize his voice, his fondness for lists, his precise, comprehensive and spectacular references to pop culture, his wit and his keen mind.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Fans of Young’s posts on VSB will recognize the wit, but these essays dig deeper than his typical blog posts. Here, you see his vulnerability and insecurities.” — Pittsburgh City Paper
“Brave, incisive and witty. . . an essential American voice . . . Young is . . . the American writer who could bridge our racial divide . . . Sometimes as profanely magnificent as a Richard Pryor routine, but just as often droll in the vein of David Sedaris.” — Pittsburg Quarterly
“With this absurdly trenchant, bouncy, tragicomic, expansive yet intimate book, Damon somehow, someway, made the page bend around my head and heart in a manner I honestly didn’t think the essay or memoir forms were capable of bending.” — Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy
“In this funny, illuminating and occasionally gutting book, Damon Young wrestles with his own masculinity, fears and lies, all while remaining unrelenting in his determination to learn and teach something valuable about blackness in America. He more than succeeds, in a volume that is a pleasure and an education.” — Rebecca Traister, author of Good and Mad
“Striking in its storytelling and imagery, in its honesty and humor, in its self-reflection and self-criticism, in its Blackness and humanity. Damon Young produced an unobstructed and unsanitized memoir that few people have the courage to write and all people should be encouraged to read.” — Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
“A passionate, wryly bittersweet tribute to black life…sharply observed…A must read.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Darkly hilarious . . . Young’s charm and wit make these essays a pleasure to read; his candid approach makes them memorable.” — Publishers Weekly
“Acid-etched insight.” — Library Journal
“Damon Young is one of the most fearless and important young writers today. A devastatingly funny critique of racism, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker is a humorous and deep dive into the culture and a life lived in that precarious state we call blackness.” — Michael Eric Dyson, author of What Truth Sounds Like
One of the freshest, most impor¬tant black voices on the internet.
Authentic, keen, and touching . . . The beauty of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker is that Young never tries to make it easy for readers. . . this timely and powerful book. . . like the work of bell hooks and Roxane Gay, should be required reading.
A fascinating exploration of how race, class and gender, inform notions of black identity in American life [and] an astute critique of the contours along which black people survive the limitations of historic and systemic racism . . . language is itself a central character.
Readers who know Young’s work from the blog he co-founded, Very Smart Brothas, will recognize his voice, his fondness for lists, his precise, comprehensive and spectacular references to pop culture, his wit and his keen mind.
With this absurdly trenchant, bouncy, tragicomic, expansive yet intimate book, Damon somehow, someway, made the page bend around my head and heart in a manner I honestly didn’t think the essay or memoir forms were capable of bending.
Fans of Young’s posts on VSB will recognize the wit, but these essays dig deeper than his typical blog posts. Here, you see his vulnerability and insecurities.
Brave, incisive and witty. . . an essential American voice . . . Young is . . . the American writer who could bridge our racial divide . . . Sometimes as profanely magnificent as a Richard Pryor routine, but just as often droll in the vein of David Sedaris.
With candor, self-awareness and considerable humor, [Young] turns an unflinching eye on both himself and an American society constructed and sustained by racism.
His essays are pointed, ruminative, often barbed and funny reflections on how the fact of his skin color has posed particular lifelong challenges, questions, and anxieties.
The VerySmartBrothas.com cofounder and senior editor for The Root has already established himself as one of our most vibrant voices on race. Now comes his first book, a blazing memoir in essays.
With candor, self-awareness and considerable humor, [Young] turns an unflinching eye on both himself and an American society constructed and sustained by racism.
Striking in its storytelling and imagery, in its honesty and humor, in its self-reflection and self-criticism, in its Blackness and humanity. Damon Young produced an unobstructed and unsanitized memoir that few people have the courage to write and all people should be encouraged to read.”
In this funny, illuminating and occasionally gutting book, Damon Young wrestles with his own masculinity, fears and lies, all while remaining unrelenting in his determination to learn and teach something valuable about blackness in America. He more than succeeds, in a volume that is a pleasure and an education.
A passionate, wryly bittersweet tribute to black life…sharply observed…A must read.
Booklist (starred review)
Damon Young is one of the most fearless and important young writers today. A devastatingly funny critique of racism, What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker is a humorous and deep dive into the culture and a life lived in that precarious state we call blackness.
Readers who know Young’s work from the blog he co-founded, Very Smart Brothas, will recognize his voice, his fondness for lists, his precise, comprehensive and spectacular references to pop culture, his wit and his keen mind.
With candor, self-awareness and considerable humor, [Young] turns an unflinching eye on both himself and an American society constructed and sustained by racism.
Authentic, keen, and touching . . . The beauty of What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker is that Young never tries to make it easy for readers. . . this timely and powerful book. . . like the work of bell hooks and Roxane Gay, should be required reading.
A fascinating exploration of how race, class and gender, inform notions of black identity in American life [and] an astute critique of the contours along which black people survive the limitations of historic and systemic racism . . . language is itself a central character.
Brave, incisive and witty. . . an essential American voice . . . Young is . . . the American writer who could bridge our racial divide . . . Sometimes as profanely magnificent as a Richard Pryor routine, but just as often droll in the vein of David Sedaris.
The VerySmartBrothas.com cofounder and senior editor for The Root has already established himself as one of our most vibrant voices on race. Now comes his first book, a blazing memoir in essays.
Fans of Young’s posts on VSB will recognize the wit, but these essays dig deeper than his typical blog posts. Here, you see his vulnerability and insecurities.
A passionate, wryly bittersweet tribute to black life…sharply observed…A must read.
Booklist (starred review)
One of the freshest, most impor¬tant black voices on the internet.
His essays are pointed, ruminative, often barbed and funny reflections on how the fact of his skin color has posed particular lifelong challenges, questions, and anxieties.
Damon Young’s deep, gravelly voice rolls through one’s ears like a musical bass line that one does not want to stop. Whether delivering jokes or speaking about how he struggled with the loss of loved ones, his voice commands attention and delivers catharsis time and again. From growing up in Pittsburgh to becoming a successful writer to navigating the politics of race in the ages of Obama and Trump, Young reconciles his Blackness, his sexuality, his family, and his success despite living in a culture preternaturally determined to make him an outsider. Both his words and his delivery will engage listeners and give them a more profound sense of what it means to be Black in a white culture, even for successful people of color. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Damon Young’s deep, gravelly voice rolls through one’s ears like a musical bass line that one does not want to stop. Whether delivering jokes or speaking about how he struggled with the loss of loved ones, his voice commands attention and delivers catharsis time and again. From growing up in Pittsburgh to becoming a successful writer to navigating the politics of race in the ages of Obama and Trump, Young reconciles his Blackness, his sexuality, his family, and his success despite living in a culture preternaturally determined to make him an outsider. Both his words and his delivery will engage listeners and give them a more profound sense of what it means to be Black in a white culture, even for successful people of color. L.E. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
2019-05-01VerySmartBrothas documents the evolution of a city, a family, and a man using language that runs the gamut from irreverent to uproarious.
The author, who is also a columnist for GQ , provides an inward-looking examination of the foibles, desires, and fears of a black man attempting to make his way in the world, the questions he asks along the way, and the destructive forces (sometimes controllable, sometimes not) that threaten to break him. This cultural landscape is steeped in the legacy of America's domestic immigrants who carved paths out of the South and into the steel and mining towns of Pennsylvania. Young's aspirational personal story parallels the trajectories of other descendants of the Great Migration. By sharing snapshots of his growth from adolescence into adulthood, he offers a glimpse into the crucible that shaped his personality and his politics, both of which came to define the aesthetic of VerySmartBrothas . But where VSB is rooted in the transactional here and now, the author's memoir explores the template upon which white supremacy is based and the recurring themes of oppression that permeate every aspect of black life in America. That Young does this vis-à-vis the tragicomedy of his own experiences makes each vignette that much more poignant. Everyone in America has some level of adjacency to the N-word: how it's used, how it's received, and the context in which the usage is deemed acceptable (or not). In addition to mining that explosive aspect of the cultural landscape, Young also looks at the extreme lengths to which men will go in search of love; how to know when to talk and when it's time to listen; and the fear of failing ones' family and how that sometimes manifests poorly in black men as opposed to more successful strategies employed by their partners. Health disparities, gentrification, and low expectations operating as a de facto form of violence on the bodies and minds of black people are among the author's many prescient themes.
Young sharply conveys important truths with powerful effect.
