Books by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration

by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

With deeply personal and uplifting essays in the vein of Black Girls Rock, You Are Your Best Thing, and I Really Needed This Today, this is “a necessary testimony on the magic and beauty of our capacity to live and love fully and out loud” (Kerry Washington).

When Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts wrote an essay on Black joy for The Washington Post, she had no idea just how deeply it would resonate. But the outpouring of positive responses affirmed her own lived experience: that Black joy is not just a weapon of resistance, it is a tool for resilience.

With this book, Tracey aims to gift her community with a collection of lyrical essays about the way joy has evolved, even in the midst of trauma, in her own life. Detailing these instances of joy in the context of Black culture allows us to recognize the power of Black joy as a resource to draw upon, and to challenge the one-note narratives of Black life as solely comprised of trauma and hardship.

“Lewis-Giggetts etches a stunning personal map that follows in her ancestors’ footsteps and highlights their ability to take control of situational heartbreak and tragedy and make something better out of it….A simultaneously gorgeous and heartbreaking read” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

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Take My Word for It - A Memoir

by LeVar Burton, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

The legendary actor behind Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Reading Rainbow shares never-before-told stories from a life that has shaped generations—told at last on his own terms.

This is my attempt to pull back the curtain. Not just on the roles I’ve played, but on the life I’ve lived. The fears. The fight. The survival. And yes, the joy. All of it.

Tracing the different eras of his life—from Kunta Kinte to Geordi La Forge to Reading Rainbow and far beyond the camera—celebrated actor LeVar Burton fearlessly opens up about growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, being raised by a remarkable mother, and discovering his calling as a storyteller. He explores how acting has served as both a source of transformation and an escape from the most difficult parts of his past, while also confronting the challenges of being a parent, husband, and householder.

As Burton honors the loved ones whose strength and resilience shaped him in this inspiring memoir, he also asks what we owe to our ancestors and to each other, reflecting on the deep necessity he’s always felt advocating for liberation and equity. Generous, deeply moving, and illustrated with personal family photos, Take My Word For It is a courageous self-portrait of an iconic artist.

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