Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move

"This is the best book I have read so far this year. It is hard to classify. In some ways, it is a memoir about her life. It also has travel stories. At the same time, it is grounded in academic thought. The book is beautifully written, engaging, and the stories are fascinating. Each chapter takes the reader on a journey by posing a question, and then telling a story that illustrates it. Then, at the end, Nyabola switches the view a little bit, which brings a deep insight that you might not have had at the start. It reminds me of some of James Baldwin ‘s essays, in the way that the view changes as you are going through it. There is a chapter about visiting Haiti , talking to people there, and getting to know the place. She has a position that gives her insights into privilege. On the one hand, she is a Kenyan woman who has experienced the world as a Black woman moving through space. At the same time, she is highly educated with degrees from major US and English universities and can move as a privileged person. She can be inside and outside at the same time. That is the power of the book, it shows that privilege is varied in lots of different situations, but it is always at someone else’s expense."