Even more open and relatable than her first. This time around the actor and author is opening up about her surrogacy journey, fighting against racial inequality in Hollywood, and her iconic Bring It On character, Isis. Grab a glass of your drink of choice and settle in, because reading Union's essays is every bit as satisfying as a nice, long chat with your best friend.
Union deftly writes about the life-changing diagnosis that led her to surrogacy as a path to motherhood; the impact of cracking open her family’s life for all to see; and how she discovered who she is beyond others’ projections. . . She makes you wish she were your best friend, her number saved in your favorites—a kindred spirit always ready to share real talk over a round of shots.
In so many ways, You Got Anything Stronger? is about digging deeper into the genre of celebrity memoir—literally giving us something more potent—because Union is honest without crossing her own boundaries of privacy, passionate about social issues without being condescending, and owns up to her own mistakes and struggles while maintaining a really radiant and admirable self-love throughout the book.
You Got Anything Stronger? continues the project of unshackling. It’s soul-baring work.
These essays are brimming with veracity, humor, and daring sincerity that becomes contagious. In depictions of motherhood, Hollywood, and even the most devastating realities, Union keeps a remarkably steady hand; she speaks with the warmth of a late night phone call.
Funny, tender, and so good.
However revealing Union is on her feed, she’s even more so on the page. Blurring the line between public and private, many chapters in You Got Anything Stronger? hinge on the very act of disclosure, the moments where Union relatably brings social media more in line with real life”
"Heartfelt, vulnerable, witty, and sincere."
In her follow-up to her debut memoir, We’re Going to Need More Wine , actor and writer Gabrielle Union picks up where she left off, delving deep into her journey to conceive daughter Kaavia, her experience as a stepmom, and the rest — ugly, beautiful, and in-between. Break out the liquor, folks, because you’re going to want a stiff drink to go with this dish.
“ You Got Anything Stronger? continues the project of unshackling. It’s soul-baring work.
“ However revealing Union is on her feed, she’s even more so on the page. Blurring the line between public and private, many chapters in You Got Anything Stronger? hinge on the very act of disclosure, the moments where Union relatably brings social media more in line with real life” — New York Times
“ You Got Anything Stronger? continues the project of unshackling. It’s soul-baring work.” — Washington Post
"Heartfelt, vulnerable, witty, and sincere." — CNN
“Union deftly writes about the life-changing diagnosis that led her to surrogacy as a path to motherhood; the impact of cracking open her family’s life for all to see; and how she discovered who she is beyond others’ projections. . . She makes you wish she were your best friend, her number saved in your favorites—a kindred spirit always ready to share real talk over a round of shots.” — Essence
“In so many ways, You Got Anything Stronger? is about digging deeper into the genre of celebrity memoir—literally giving us something more potent—because Union is honest without crossing her own boundaries of privacy, passionate about social issues without being condescending, and owns up to her own mistakes and struggles while maintaining a really radiant and admirable self-love throughout the book.” — Shondaland
"In her follow-up to her debut memoir, We’re Going to Need More Wine , actor and writer Gabrielle Union picks up where she left off, delving deep into her journey to conceive daughter Kaavia, her experience as a stepmom, and the rest — ugly, beautiful, and in-between. Break out the liquor, folks, because you’re going to want a stiff drink to go with this dish." — Bustle
“You Got Anything Stronger? is a boundary-pushing, self-discovery inducing lesson on vulnerability” — Parade
Even more open and relatable than her first. This time around the actor and author is opening up about her surrogacy journey, fighting against racial inequality in Hollywood, and her iconic Bring It On character, Isis. Grab a glass of your drink of choice and settle in, because reading Union's essays is every bit as satisfying as a nice, long chat with your best friend. — Popsugar
Funny, tender, and so good. — Mindy Kaling, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Why Not Me?
These essays are brimming with veracity, humor, and daring sincerity that becomes contagious. In depictions of motherhood, Hollywood, and even the most devastating realities, Union keeps a remarkably steady hand; she speaks with the warmth of a late night phone call. — Kiley Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age
This is an absolute must-read. Gabrielle doesn’t just open up—she opens up conversations we need to be having. — Sunny Hostin, New York Times bestselling author of Summer on the Bluffs and I Am These Truths
Here is that rare book that will not only touch your heart, but also send you back out there to stand up for yourself and others. — Meena Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ambitious Girl
This book is a masterclass in authenticity and vulnerability, and I loved it! I drank up the words on the pages because this is Gabby’s heart wide open in print. It is a stunning read that is deeply humanizing and I’m inspired by the courage and humor in it. It’s just so DAMB GOOD! — Luvvie Ajayi Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Professional Troublemaker : The Fear-Fighter Manual
Gabrielle Union has written another wonderful book that pulls no punches. The searing honesty of You Got Anything Stronger? is a gift to readers. Union faces head-on the different ways women become mothers and partners in an emotionally resonant and universal way. Her voice is relatable, warm, and sharp. You owe it to yourself to curl up with this book and to pass it along to a friend. — Tressie McMillan Cottom, Professor and MacArthur Fellow
Gabrielle Union is serving us another stellar memoir. . . She gets even deeper in this series of essays that detail what her life is like now, including her experience with surrogacy and racism in the entertainment industry. — Cosmopolitan , "15 Compelling Fall 2021 Books to Add to Your Reading List"
The star actor and producer demonstrates her dedication to empowering young Black women and other marginalized people. As these essays ably show, Union is a dynamic role model for young Black women in all walks of life. — Kirkus Reviews
Union returns with more wise, intimate personal stories. . . The respect with which she writes about the people in her life is a true testament to her character. Always smart, inviting, and generous with emotion, Union's second exquisite memoir reads like a conversation with your most enlightened, thoughtful friend. — Booklist (starred review)
This is an absolute must-read. Gabrielle doesn’t just open up—she opens up conversations we need to be having.
Gabrielle Union has written another wonderful book that pulls no punches. The searing honesty of You Got Anything Stronger? is a gift to readers. Union faces head-on the different ways women become mothers and partners in an emotionally resonant and universal way. Her voice is relatable, warm, and sharp. You owe it to yourself to curl up with this book and to pass it along to a friend.
This book is a masterclass in authenticity and vulnerability, and I loved it! I drank up the words on the pages because this is Gabby’s heart wide open in print. It is a stunning read that is deeply humanizing and I’m inspired by the courage and humor in it. It’s just so DAMB GOOD!
Union returns with more wise, intimate personal stories. . . The respect with which she writes about the people in her life is a true testament to her character. Always smart, inviting, and generous with emotion, Union's second exquisite memoir reads like a conversation with your most enlightened, thoughtful friend.
Booklist (starred review)
Gabrielle Union is serving us another stellar memoir. . . She gets even deeper in this series of essays that detail what her life is like now, including her experience with surrogacy and racism in the entertainment industry.
"15 Compelling Fall 2021 Books to Add to Your Read Cosmopolitan
Here is that rare book that will not only touch your heart, but also send you back out there to stand up for yourself and others.
Acknowledging the relationship she formed with listeners with her first book, author and narrator Gabrielle Union dives into a place of vulnerability and openness. The actor shares her experience of having her daughter via a surrogate. Union’s voice gets quieter during the toughest parts, but she unfailingly sees the comedic aspects of life. This trait is highlighted when she says in a cheery tone, “At least my embryos are rejecting someone else.” From bathroom emergencies to a decades-long journey in self-healing, Union tells it all. Her fast, excited speech while talking about a dance-off between her friends and Bruno Mars’s band emphasizes the competitive fun. The conviction in Union’s strong voice when she says “We’ve got this.” ends the audiobook on a powerful note and instills listeners with confidence. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Acknowledging the relationship she formed with listeners with her first book, author and narrator Gabrielle Union dives into a place of vulnerability and openness. The actor shares her experience of having her daughter via a surrogate. Union’s voice gets quieter during the toughest parts, but she unfailingly sees the comedic aspects of life. This trait is highlighted when she says in a cheery tone, “At least my embryos are rejecting someone else.” From bathroom emergencies to a decades-long journey in self-healing, Union tells it all. Her fast, excited speech while talking about a dance-off between her friends and Bruno Mars’s band emphasizes the competitive fun. The conviction in Union’s strong voice when she says “We’ve got this.” ends the audiobook on a powerful note and instills listeners with confidence. A.L.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2021-08-23
Union and her husband, former NBA superstar Dwyane Wade, are a Black American celebrity couple the media loves to follow. In the first and longest essay, “Loved Even as a Thought,” the author chronicles the couple’s pregnancy via surrogacy. Although Union first considered their decision to use a gestational carrier a “walk away from home plate,” the strategy paid off with the birth of Kaavia James. The Hollywood veteran is candid in her admission that, ultimately, she was a “character actress” in her daughter’s “one-woman show.” In the rest of the book, Union offers her takes on Hollywood parties, auditions, family dramas, and “how-to” advice for making it in “the industry” for aspiring young people of color. Regarding feedback, she writes, “Examine it and decide what you’re gonna take and what you’re gonna discard.” The author also writes charmingly and instructively about the many “bonding stepmother-stepdaughter moments” she has shared with her gender-nonconforming stepdaughter, and she shares an entertaining anecdote about inadvertently getting on Janet Jackson’s bad side—but don’t worry, Janet is now “the friend who reminds me to set my clocks back.” Union exposes gender problems in work life (“Balance is a lie” since the system “is rigged against women”) and rails against blackface and blackfishing, which entails non-Black people “stealing the looks and features of Blackness for profit.” While recounting the devastating rape she suffered when she was 19, the author describes how she found recovery and emotional support through watching Black Olympians triumph in the 1992 Summer Olympic. “I needed a lifeline,” she writes, “and what I saw was unapologetic Black stardom and perseverance.” Throughout, Black excellence is cast as the antidote to racism and other societal poisons.
As these essays ably show, Union is a dynamic role model for young Black women in all walks of life.
