BOOK REVIEW: RECLAIMING by Yewande Biala

RECLAIMING

ESSAYS ON FINDING YOURSELF, ONE PIECE AT A TIME

By Yewande Biala

RECLAIMING by Yewande Biala is a tender, heart-warming, relatable yet fierce declaration of reclamation of self.

Yewande Biala is a Scientist, specifically an Operations Specialist who grew up in Dublin, Ireland and is of Nigerian heritage. She appeared on the reality show ‘Love Island’ in 2019 and wrote a powerful piece on microaggressions, racism and the importance of pronouncing people’s names correctly.

In RECLAIMING Biala holds no punches, powering her words with determination, grit and vulnerability. Yes, vulnerability. We don’t often associate vulnerability with power but Biala writes with a fierce power that can only come from the painful almost breaking of self followed by the arduous task of rebuilding, healing and restoration.

Vulnerability can be powerful when it is underpinned by confidence, experience and discernment. Audre Lorde, an intersectional feminist, beautifully stated in her seminal collection of essays entitled ‘Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches’ “[N]othing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” In RECLAIMING, Biala accepts herself, allowing us into the most intimate parts of her mind, shining a powerful spotlight on her personal experiences and challenges and then turns the beaming spotlight into a universal call to action to go forth into the world with boldness and know your worth.

Biala covers a vast, expansive range of topics in her book. Each chapter deals with a specific issue such as: friendship, mental health, the cultural importance of names; colourism; body image; musings on social media; religion; romantic relationships and the challenges (read racism) that come with being a Black woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.)

Biala uses the following tools and techniques in this book presented as sets of personal essays which make for a moving, informative and heartening read:

1. Front Cover

2. History Lessons

3. Vivid, imaginative and precise descriptions

4. Personal, yet universal letters to herself

Front Cover:

I really appreciate the colours used for the front cover of this book and the mix of light and slightly darker colours. The background is yellow, the title is blue, the sketch of a female body and author’s name on the front cover are purple and the book’s tagline is pink. Blue is associated with calmness, purple can be associated with royalty, yellow is a bright outgoing colour and pink can be associated with femininity and softness. I appreciate that the sketch is purple. I feel that it represents the regality of a woman and the importance of valuing yourself highly. You can read up on these ideas about colour psychology further in Chapter 3 of Big Dress Energy by Shakaila Forbes-Bell (please look at my book review on Big Dress Energy here.)

The mix of colours in my view shows the complexity and multidimensional state of human beings. Finding or reclaiming yourself can be a bright, joyful, sweet, introspective, regal, but difficult process all at the same time! I love the yellow background of the front cover. Yellow is a long wavelength colour which stimulates the sympathetic nervous system component of our Automatic Nervous System (ANS).[1] The sympathetic nervous system is ‘responsible for your body’s “fight-or flight” response.’[2] The yellow background made me immediately feel energised and excited. I appreciate the darker, shorter wavelength colour, blue being used as the title as it shows the mix of fun and introspection contained in this book.

I appreciate the sketch of a naked person sitting on the front cover of RECLAIMING and that the person (likely female) is looking into a mirror. The nakedness of the person represents the necessity of loving yourself in your true authentic state – loving yourself in the true authentic nakedness of who you are. Instead of narcissism, I viewed this image of the female outline looking into the mirror as a returning to Self. It reminds me of the old adage that in order to love others, you must first love and know yourself or as Ru Paul in the show ‘Drag Race’ heartily proclaimed, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else.”

History Lessons:

Yewande Biala mixes personal stories with history lessons. In RECLAIMING Biala provides history lessons and data in chapters to contextualise current circumstances and situations. Biala writes about the Brown Paper Bag test in her chapter on Colourism; the history of body image in her chapter entitled ‘Blurred Lines and Beauty Lessons’; and in her chapter entitled ‘Swipe Left, Swipe Right’, Biala tells us the tragic story of Saartjie Sara Baartman a Khoikhoi woman, fetishised, exhibited and humiliated in Europe and brutalised even in death.

By providing history lessons, particularly Black History lessons in her essays, Biala demonstrates that the horrific past can influence the present. In chapter one entitled ‘Say My Name’ Biala details the challenges of existing in a Eurocentric culture with an African name. Biala explains that “[t]he process of un-naming and renaming enslaved Africans was a crucial ceremony as part of an act of possession from the slave master.”[3] Biala goes on to explain the further horrific dehumanisation, abuse and control of African people through renaming.

Biala shares a memory many of us with non-western names can relate to – roll call and the dread of having your name mispronounced or made fun of by others. Biala shares the beautiful story her parents shared with her about the naming process for Yourba people[4]. This naming process combines African deities, history, language and culture(s). Biala goes on to provide further historical context surrounding African names by detailing Black people who renamed themselves as an act of taking back their power. She mentions the Black Pride movement, Malcolm X and Assata Shakur. Some people within Caribbean culture in the 60s changed their names to African names due to heightened political awareness and understanding of their African roots and I myself have an African middle name which I extremely proud of.

Specifically, through this history lesson on names, Biala highlights name changing and deliberate name mispronunciation within the context of slavery, racism and an imbalance of power. Biala demonstrates that the horrific past cannot be simply left in the past to dissipate into the ether. She educates and shows us why it is important to respect people’s names because our names are sacred and have deep spiritual and cultural meanings.

Biala’s expert synthesis of history and the present through her storytelling makes for an eye-opening, educational read.

Vivid, imaginative and precise descriptions:

Biala writes with joyful, friendly, compassionate, imaginative prose. In her chapter on colourism, Biala writes about a painful experience and likens the tears that fall to the River Nile.[5] This beautifully written masterpiece of a metaphor makes the reader imagine the way that tears can sleekly and evenly run down our faces as the way one can easily sail down the Nile River (as I have had the pleasure of doing.) It is interesting that Biala would choose to use the image of the River Nile to describe tears of turmoil.

However, sometimes in challenging moments, tears can flow smoothly and don’t always flow or gush down faces with haphazard jaggedness. Perhaps, using this metaphor, Biala wants the reader to appreciate the quiet horror and hurt of this moment. I love that Biala chooses to use a river that runs through many African countries as the metaphor in this instance. Biala centres Africa and Blackness in her writing and this includes describing a human emotion.

In chapter three, entitled ‘Blurred Lines and Beauty Lessons’ Biala writes about body image and recounts a scene at the hairdressers where the hairdresser dug “the tail comb into what felt like the epicentre of my scalp’s pain receptors.”[6] What an image! This is an image I’m sure is relatable to many people, particularly those of us with glorious Afro hair. As a reader, I figuratively felt my hair being pulled at in that moment and winced for my poor, (figuratively) pulled scalp! Biala uses a description that is relatable and once again centres Blackness and another aspect of the Black experience.

In chapter eight entitled ‘Swipe Left, Swipe Right,’ Biala urges us not to water down love and hopes that our love is as strong as scotch (whiskey) or as gentle as linen[7]. By pairing these opposite ideas together, Biala shows us that love can be both strong and gentle and that this duality should be celebrated.

Personal, yet Universal letters:

Page 207 to the end of Yewande Biala’s brilliant RECLAIMING provides us with a letter to Biala’s future self. This letter is personal, yet universal and relatable all in one. Biala begins by describing her current state of dress in the moment of writing the letter as she refers to wearing a “hydrating face mask and holding a glass of non-alcoholic wine.”[8] This technique of describing what one looks like or ones’ state of mind when writing a letter or another type of descriptive piece humanises the writer and can make the reader feel more connected to the writer. Biala doesn’t state that she is writing this letter whist sitting in a crystal ball gown. If she did, I doubt this letter would have had the same effect. The image of Biala writing this letter, likely in casual attire and wearing a hydrating mask helps to connect her to the reader as the reader is likely sitting at home, relaxed whilst reading this book. We tend to connect over common ground and universal emotions and ways of being and experiences.

Biala goes on to provide advice to herself which come in the form of powerful lines such as “control is overrated anyways”[9], “[s]top romanticising perfection”,[10] and “I hope your laugh is as loud as a hungry lion.”[11] I absolutely love the joyful simile provided in the last quote! Biala explains what she wishes to move on from, shares her hopes for herself and affirms herself. She also affirms herself in chapter eight – ‘Swipe Left, Swipe Right’ where she writes about past romantic experiences and looks to the future with honesty and confident authority.

The key to the universality and therefore, relatability of the letters Biala writes is their authenticity. Biala provides details of life experiences many of us can relate to and provides advice that is positive, kind and compassionate. The advice she provides herself with is advice one would give to a loved one. By writing to herself and being so authentic and honest, Biala provides space for the reader to be honest, hopeful and kind to themselves too.

There is so much more I’d love to comment on regarding RECLAIMING. I will simply briefly mention chapter seven – ‘Heaven Help Me’, where Biala makes important commentary about very serious issues and gross contradictions in some churches and provides important commentary and philosophical musings on religion. I also thoroughly enjoyed chapter nine – ‘Pass Me My Lab Coat’ where Biala makes critically important comments and writes about her academic and career journey as a Black woman in STEM.

Conclusion:

Yewande Biala’s RECLAIMING is a fierce, tender, heartwarming book filled with her wisdom and experience. This book is affirming, educational, vulnerable, honest and joyful. The topics covered are wide-ranging and the book cover itself is inviting. I invite you all to read this wonderful book. I invite you all to learn a little more about Black experiences and I invite you all to use Yewande Biala’s RECLAIMING as a tool for reclamation of Self.