In the spirit of Amy Poehler’s Yes Please Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl & Roxane Gay&s Bad Feminist a powerful collection of essays about gender sexuality race beauty Hollywood & what it means to be a modern woman One month before the release of the highly anticipated film The Birth of a Nation actress Gabrielle Union shook the world with a vulnerable & impassioned editorial in which she urged our society to have compassion for victims of sexual violence In the wake of rape allegations made against director & actor Nate Parker Union—a forty-four-year-old actress who launched her career with roles in iconic ’90s movies—instantly became the insightful outspoken actress that Hollywood has been desperately awaiting With honesty & heartbreaking wisdom she revealed her own trauma as a victim of sexual assault " It is for you that I am speaking This is real We are real" In this moving collection of thought provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom & deep humor Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal & true stories about power color gender feminism & fame Union tackles a range of experiences including bullying beauty standards & competition between women in Hollywood growing up in white California suburbia & then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska coping with crushes puberty & the divorce of her parents Genuine & perceptive Union bravely lays herself bare uncovering a complex & courageous life of self-doubt & self-discovery with incredible poise & brutal honesty Throughout she compels us to be ethical & empathetic & reminds us of the importance of confidence self-awareness & the power of sharing truth laughter & support