No Thanks: Black, Female, and Living in the Martyr-Free Zone

by Keturah Kendrick

Overview

Through eight humorous essays, Keturah Kendrick chronicles her journey to freedom. She shares the stories of other women who have freed themselves from the narrow definition of what makes a “proper woman.” Spotlighting the cultural bullying that dictates women must become mothers to the expectation that one’s spiritual path follow the traditions of previous generations, Kendrick imagines a world where black women make life choices that center on their needs and desires. She also examines the rising trend of women choosing to remain single and explores how such a choice is the antithesis to the trope of the sorrowful black woman who cannot find a man to grant her the prize of legal partnership. A mixture of memoir and cultural critique, No Thanks uses wit and insight to paint a picture of the twenty-first-century black woman who has unchained herself from what she is supposed to be. A black woman who has given herself permission to be whomever she wants to be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631525360
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
Sales rank:	859,785
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

A New Orleanian by birth and New Yorker by choice, Keturah Kendrick has been penning insights about life at the intersection of race and gender for a decade. Aside from her popular blog, Yet Another Single Gal, she has written for The Unfit Christian, The Not Mom, NonParents, and numerous publications. A practicing Nichiren Buddhist and steadfast humanist, Kendrick seeks to widen the narrative of good black womanhood. Much of her work normalizes and celebrates the black woman who exists outside of the beloved box of gleeful sufferer of fools who sacrifices self for the greater good. She has lived on three different continents and visited dozens of countries. Her travels across the globe have shown her that patriarchy and the worship of whiteness are worldwide illnesses. She should have written No Thanks years ago. It is long overdue.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

1 For Clarity's Sake 3

2 The S Word 13

3 The Reality of Regret 39

4 My Vote Is Valid 61

5 Gimme That New Religion 85

6 Wherever You Go, There You Are 105

7 What the Wound Reveals 131

8 Letting the Loose Woman Remain Free 153

Editorial Reviews

2020 CIBA Hearten Book Awards Finalists
"If you are interested in reading a candid, courageous, feminist portrait of what it means to live as a free black woman, No Thanks is a must read. Keturah Kendrick explores a broad range of themes that are compelling and heartfelt—relationships, friendship, marriage, motherhood, living outside the US, resisting gender norms/scripts . . . and much more. Enter and savor the gift!" —Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women’s Studies at Spelman College and editor of Words of Fire: An Anthology of African American Feminist Thought "Black women do not need permission to live out loud. But sometimes we need assurance—confirmation that we are free, despite persistent attempts to make us otherwise. No Thanks is a powerful assurance. All young black women should read it; old ones, too. With this book, Keturah Kendrick powerfully illustrates the radical notion that black women can have abundant, fulfilling, and connected lives, powered by our own humanity and desires. This is the revolution and the revolutionary that we need now." —Tamara Winfrey-Harris, author of The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America "As a named 'pioneer' in the child-free lifestyle, I devoured this book. It’s the icing on the cake for truly understanding what a black woman faces when she announces she never wants to have or raise children. It’s similar to what anyone faces, but with more clarity to the distinct social expectations of her culture and race. I loved learning, although I winced many times from the ignorance and imposed expectations." —Marcia Drut-Davis, author of Confessions of a Childfree Woman "No Thanks presents a unique narrative of the single woman. Kendrick could have been married, but she chose not to be. She owns this and other nontraditional choices, utterly unapologetically. This book will stay with you. While you are reading it, it will feel like fun. You will have laugh-out-loud moments. But No Thanks goes way beyond mere entertainment. It is wise. It is profound. It just may change your life." —Bella DePaulo, author of How We Live Now: Redefining Home and Family in the 21st Century "As women, we so often focus on our due dates for what society deems as success instead of using our time to find our own happiness in ourselves. I challenge you to do what Ms. Kendrick did: Become braver versions of yourselves to discover your own happiness." —Single Girls Rock "A book for women (and some men), particularly those seeking to forge a different path for themselves, away from what is often termed ‘normal’." —Nonparents.com "No Thanks will challenge anyone who has only ever seen the world as black and white, bringing much-needed color into their lives. Filled with relatable stories, wit, and thought provoking essays, Kendrick’s memoir is an eye-opening book for the conventional, and a comforting source of healing and empowerment for the offbeat black women who have been relentlessly judged or exiled due to speaking their own truth and following their soul’s deepest desires." —Jaro magazine

From the Publisher