Okay ladies, it’s time to find your favorite drink (if you’re over 21), your best girls and a comfortable spot where you can laugh and cry cohesively. Gabrielle Union’s new book, “We’re Going to Need More Wine” a whirlwind of stories that will leave you reaching for your tissues and even a few new inside jokes. This book is for every woman and woman of color who has never had a story to relate to them. Below, we’ve shared five reasons why you should be reaching for the book right now.
1. Gabrielle Union is 100% open about a lot of the mistakes.
We’ve all been there. Where you’ve made a mistake and the gut wrenching aftermath undoubtedly has you in your feelings. No matter the magnitude, you messed up and you’re probably incredibly hard on yourself. So much to the point that you’re like the walking dead. Even in the introduction of her book, Gabby breaks down how laughable many of her situations were now that she is a bit older and well adjusted. It is the unspoken sense that even though everything is not okay in right now in your twenties, it eventually will be when you can laugh out loud in a restaurant full of people over your favorite wine and not care who’s watching.
2. Recognizing that sometimes you may just be surviving right now is okay, sis.
Feeling lost? Confused? Or just straight up over it? Us too. Welcome to survival mode, where sometimes you’re just existing and not living. Again, in the first few pages of this book Gabby shares that, “I felt lost plenty, stuck in the dungeons that I was thrown into, and some I even locked myself into.” Listen, if this doesn’t make sense then nothing else will. Even as an almost mid twenty-something I have had my share of feeling as though I am wondering aimlessly. It is one thing to think that, but it is easier to resonate when someone of Gabby’s stature can relate with you too. It is almost like you’re having a conversation with a good girlfriend because she just gets it.
3. Even she recognizes that she must relive certain stories to move past them.
As scary as this part is, it’s necessary. We speak on authenticity so much these days that I often wonder, does anyone understand what that really means? Being true to your story and true to your shortcomings is being authentic. Knowing that you don’t have it all together is being authentic. If there is anything that Gabby teaches us, it’s that we just have to do it scared until it no longer scares us.
4. Trauma exists and you have to face it dead on.
From being called racial slurs to facing sexual assault, she’s seen some tough times. Imagine being in the third grade and being called out of your name by hat she coins as “racist alliteration”. Or imagine working at a shoe store in your “safe neighborhood” to come face to face with a serial rapist. Some of us have seen these things and much worse, but what Gabby gave us in her stories is that life happens and it’s not that you should ignore the ugly but you should live to tell how you made it out.
5. Even though life can be screwed up, put some humor in it.
Honestly, no one’s story of unfortunate events is ever humorous. However, you do sometimes have to give your situation a little humor to get past the hurt. We already know that Gabrielle Union is a fun loving, phenomenal and all around charismatic actor. So, when we see her in this avenue it is a breath of fresh air because she is encouraging us to be ourselves and to without a doubt walk in our truth.
If you have yet to read “We’re Going to Need More Wine” you can find it in stores and online through your favorite retailers.
All images courtesy of Giphy.com