genre: nonfiction Christian/memoir/self help
I got to "know" Carlos Whittaker during Covid when the delightful Sharon McMahon (@sharonsaysso) brought him and his friendly, loving self to my attention. What I always have appreciated about him is his way of explaining hard issues - especially issues regarding race - from a sincere and straightforward perspective. When I saw he wrote a book, I decided I would just preorder the audio - since I knew I wanted to listen to him read to me.
If you are already a part of his "instafamilia," this book will be a cozy but real reminder about what Carlos really strives to stand for. From a Christian perspective (and he does acknowledge that even if you don't believe in the divinity of Christ that there is room to learn from His example), Carlos walks us through the ways that we can improve the way we show up with the people sharing this planet with us. There are important ideas here about being aware - almost vigilant - of the people in our circle or community that need us to show up for them. The book itself does follow a structure that follows along with how Carlos processed the years just before and during Covid and his stories did always feel like they applied to the point he was trying to make. As someone who followed along on his instagram stories during some of these experiences, it was actually really good to get a bit of a behind the scenes look at his life.
My only gripe is that it is a bit repetitious. I think the book could've been been pared down and not lost any of its substance but I also think that the things he was repeating are important ideas. I truly appreciated his take about the atmosphere online right now - the hatred being spewed from every corner is so corrosive. I have to agree with his premise that what the world needs now is more people in touch with their own humanity.
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