What Mama Couldn't Tell Us About Love: Healing the Emotional Legacy of Slavery, Celebrating Our Light

Rating:
Summary: Understanding yourself in a new light
Review: I have never read a book that revealed more about black male female relationships. I've read this book three times, and I've given as a gift to other sisters in the struggle just as many times. I recommend this book highly to anyone on a search to understand themselves intergenerationally.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding yourself in a new light
Review: I have never read a book that revealed more about black male female relationships. I've read this book three times, and I've given as a gift to other sisters in the struggle just as many times. I recommend this book highly to anyone on a search to understand themselves intergenerationally.

Rating:
Summary: I don't rate many things with 5 stars!
Review: I really can't add nothing that hasn't been said but this book is
damn near perfect! Any black Women who reads this will find something here to identify with. A great gift to give to your Mothers, Daughter, Sisters, cousins, friend etc.

Rating:
Summary: Provocative, Enlightening, and Engaging
Review: This book is an absolute MUST for any black woman (or man for that matter) who wants to deal with intergenerational scarcity beliefs which prevent us from truly experiencing love in our lives. Richardson and Wade do an excellent job of explaining how the slavery experience impacted every facet of black life and remnants of that impact are played out in our relationships with our family, friends, and mates. For instance, many of us can look back in our family tree to locate where different behavioral patterns (i.e. alcoholism, sexual abuse, obesity, etc.) developed and now play out in our own lives. The authors have you do a series of exercises, such as a genogram which lists the scarcity beliefs and self-destructive behaviors members of our families have developed and passed on to us, to help you begin to understand those internalized beliefs and behaviors which prevent us from experiencing real love. The book doesn't just focus on love relationships with mates but explores love relationships with ourselves, our family, and our mates. Personally, I found the chapter on anger to be the most provocative and enlightening. So much so that I have begun using the information I learned about my anger issues in my individual counseling sessions. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to deal with the pain of slavery and its reprecussions on our present day lives.