Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement 5⭐️/5

Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana Burke

5⭐️/5

In this courageous, eye-opening story, we learn about the woman behind the words “me too” before she could even say them herself: the activist, the young Catholic girl, the bold college student, the mother, the organizer, the camp leader, and, ultimately, the survivor.

The story opens in 2017 when #metoo started trending on Twitter, 10 years *after* Tarana had created it for her work around the sexual assault of Black and Brown girls. After this scene, we are then transported to Tarana’s girlhood, making our way through her story of sexual assault and dealing with it years after it occurred.

Tarana does not hold back, this reads with unflinching honesty, not because the subject matter calls for it, but because it’s clearly an extension of herself: honest, tough, vulnerable, survivor. Though another element that shines through while you’re reading is her love for her community, for all of the women she encounters and aims to help with her organizing and activism.

I read this book weeks ago and I’m still thinking about it. I put off a review because I wanted to sit with Tarana’s story of power, trauma, healing, and her relentless work advocating for Black and Brown girls who have experienced sexual violence and assault.

I chose to listen to this book on Audible, and I’d highly recommend it! I always love hearing memoirs recounted by the author, and this one was no exception. Hearing Tarana’s story in her own words made her truth that much more compelling.

A difficult, but necessary read. Even just from following Tarana on social media, I would absolutely read about her experiences in the #metoo era and beyond.