Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery

From Library Journal The noted author of Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism ( LJ 12/1/81) and Black Looks: Race and Represen tation ( LJ 7/92) takes a down-to-earth appproach to the process of self-actualization. An avid fan of self-help literature and a professor of African American studies, hooks summons the perspectives of both these disciplines to address the concerns of victims of institutionalized racism, sexism, and capitalist oppression. The title captures the yam's status as "a life-sustaining symbol of black kinship and community" as well as being the name of the author's campus support group. Through personal testimony, hooks describes how women can heal lives strained by kin, work, loss, yearning, mendacity, addiction, and ego. She considers the political realities black women must face as she implores them to heal themselves. Readers trying to unlearn racism and sexism will respect hooks for politicizing the self-recovery movement. Highly recommended.