Black Girls Must Die Exhausted

Hello Readers,

Have you found yourself in the midst of the hustle? Have you been at the cusp of an emerging career seeing your dream almost within your grasp? Tabitha Walker is that girl who is driven, educated and climbing the the career ladder with her almost perfect life. All she needs is a great guy to commit to marriage so she can have kids. You know, the American Dream, right? Wrong. Do to unforeseen circumstances she gets news that increases the pressure for her to get out of a dead end relationship and make "shit happen" before her biological clock literally shuts off.

I'm not gonna lie, these books had been on my TBR for a while because I feared the whole Diary of a Mad Black Woman trope. I kept thinking if this is another one of those let's-see-how-much-a-black-woman-can-get-dragged-through-the-mud before everything goes right, I am not here for it. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find Tabitha's story balanced enough to address real issues of being young black and single woman without completely deleting joy from her life. The challenges that Tabitha encountered as a career woman mirrored many of mine. Many can relate to the stress of the corporate climb, trying to constantly move higher in the industry while maintaining your sanity.

I loved the positive support she received from her female friends and family ties. My favorite person in the story is her grandmother's best friend. I love how that woman jumped into life with both feet, made mistakes and still moved on without losing her love of life. She wasn't afraid of " not doing it right" and ended up being an inspiration to Tabitha.

What resonated with me the most was how this dream of having the perfect job, the perfect man and a perfect family looked so enticing and shiny on the outside, but as she found her way into that dream she realized that not everything was as perfect as she imagined. She faces some major decisions about how her future will unfold. Will she decide to give up all that she worked for in order to fit into a mold that society has advertised?

This series will forever be in my collection because it helped me work through so many dilemmas. How many of us fight so hard to maintain and image that does not fully align with the "blue print" given to us. How often have we continued to participate in relationships; romantic or platonic that drained us because...well... it looks good in Christmas photos and everyone wants to be part of our social group. The fear of stepping outside of the norm prevents us from moving into more aligned spaces. It prevents us from experiencing our wildest dreams and living our most abundant lives. If you are thinking, okay here we go again with this abundant mess... hold on for a minute. If there was nothing to stop you what would you do? How would your life improve if you just went for what scared you?

If I had to write a letter to my younger self I would say, "The best things in life are on the other side of fear." Will Smith's speech rings in my head until this day and I believe the original quote was from George Addaire. I would tell my younger self to do something that you fear everyday because you can. I would tell myself to lean into the unknown because the exhilarating experiences are waiting for you. Your most expansive self is waiting for you. Fear is an illusion that keeps you small, therefore fight those paper giants and they will disappear like clouds of dust.

Always,

AnnElise