A blazingly honest essay collection from a refreshing new voice exploring the in-between moments for Black women and girls, and what it means to simply exist<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cAt thirty-seven years old I can say Shenequa is a big name and I\u2019m a big, bold woman.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Shenequa Golding doesn\u2019t aim to speak for all Black women. We\u2019re too vast, too vibrant, and too complicated. As an adult, Golding begins to own her boldness, but growing up, she found herself \u201ckind of in the middle,\u201d fluctuating between not being the fly kid or the overachiever. Her debut collection of essays,\u00a0A Black Girl in the Middle<\/i>, taps into life\u2019s wins and losses, representing the middle ground for Black girls and women.<\/p>\n
Golding packs humor, curiosity, honesty, anger, and ultimately acceptance in 12 essays spanning her life in Queens, NY, as a first-generation Jamaican American. She breaks down the 10 levels of Black Girl Math, from the hard glare to responses reserved for unfaithful boyfriends. She comes to terms with and heals from fraught relationships with her father, friends, and romantic partners. She takes the devastating news that she\u2019s a Black girl with a \u201cflat ass\u201d in stride, and adds squats to her routine, eventually. From a harrowing encounter in a hotel room leading her to explore celibacy (for now) to embracing rather than fearing the \u201cMilli Vanilli\u201d of emotions in hurt and anger, Golding embraces everything she\u2019s learned with wit, heart, and humility.<\/p>\n
A Black Girl in the Middle<\/i>\u00a0is both an acknowledgment of the complexity and pride of not always fitting in and validation of what Black girlhood and womanhood can be.<\/p>\n