I'M STILL HERE (ADAPTED FOR YOUNG READERS) Loving Myself in a World Not Made for Me

Austin Channing Brown narrates stories of loving herself as she grows up a Black girl in a mostly white world. Her tone is upbeat and her attitude positive as she describes her confusion amid early experiences of white coding. Through natural, immersive storytelling she shows how she thought she faced gender bias because of her name but came to understand the larger issue of racism. Brown's delivery is conversational. Her stories are personal, yet they speak to universal situations, such as becoming the designated spokesperson for Blacks in white classrooms, receiving impactful lessons from her parents on getting through life, suffering when her cousin is sent to prison, and seeing the limited views of whites as she experiences inequities and indignities from elementary school to adulthood. S.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2023]