A little backs story, Zeba Blay in 2013 first coined the term #carefreeblackgirls on Twitter. She explains in this book that the hashtag was a way to carve out space for black girls online. “Care Free Black Girls” is an essay collection of Blay’s thoughts and feelings on the work and achievements of Black women in the media – from Josephine Baker to Cardi B. She celebrates the strengths of Black women while also examining the stereotypes and identities that have clung to them.

Zeba Blay shares her personal experience with mental illness, suicide, racial violence, sexual abuse, body dysmorphia, and many more triggering materials. I was utterly saddened by her experiences, it's troubling that she is not the only one who experiences these feelings. Zeba Blay is also encouraging and inspiring, Blay expresses her hope for a better world for Black women.

I especially loved when Blay talks about representation, she explains that being “seen” is not the same as being understood. You can “see” someone as still misunderstand them; this is especially the case with Black women today. Society constantly sees Black women in the media and puts them in a box to fit a pretty little stereotype of their choosing. Blay calls to action a new phenomenon called the “Carefree Black Girl gaze”, where society sees Black girls in pop culture for what they are instead of relying on tropes and stereotypes, for Black women to be free of labels.

I don’t rate memoirs or autobiographies because of the simple fact that it is Zeba Blay’s life, she is allowing us a window into her thoughts and her deeply personal feelings and I think that’s unratable. It just is. It’s Zeba Blay. And I recommend this book to EVERYONE!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review