empowering. uplifting. inspirational.
these are just three of the many adjectives that come to mind when i think of chidera eggerue’s books ‘what a time to be alone’ and ‘how to get over a boy’.
feminism
in these books, eggerue effortlessly combines the wisdom of her lived experience with many concepts from feminist theory, feminist psychology and even critical social psychology. by dismantling one social construct after the other, she adds an accessibility to these concepts that i have rarely seen before.
an unapologetic champion of women, and even more specifically black women, eggerue doesn’t hold back when charting the path to self acceptance, self care and ultimately self love.
intersectionality
she definitely doesn’t hold back when discussing how this path is even more difficult and therefore even more vital for women of colour. and she shouldn’t be holding back. there are still too many social, structural and systemic barriers that all of us need to deal with once and for all.
beyond romance
i believe that it is precisely this dimension of the books that grants them a relevance far beyond any romantic context.
because the more women can be strong, confident and comfortable in their own bodies and skins, the better off humankind will be in general.
