A Place to Belong (Hardcover)

In the book description this is called a ”guide.“ It is certainly that and so much more. I am not sure what I was expecting from this book but I knew that because of the kind of speaker and writer that Amber is that it would be good. What I did not expect was how challenged I would feel to get my literal house in order. This book made me think quite a bit as a homeschooler about my approach to guiding principles, but it also made me think as a Black woman what our core family values are and how we pass those down to our son. It challenged me to think about how we interact with and value others' purpose and heritages without sacrificing who we are as a people. I felt like I needed to get out of clipboard and start making a list with my family so that we can get to work! I'm so glad that this book wasn't just targeted at one group of people. It spoke to so many of us and was so honest in its approach. For that I say thank you for writing this book Amber O'Neal Johnson!

When I first encountered the author's teaching points it was via a video on mirrors and windows, and I was moved. Previous to that, I was (and still am) a homeschooling mom who had become grieved over the dismissal, absence, or, frankly, racism in so many of the hailed books suggested in the book lists within homeschool curricula I loved so much. In my first years teaching, I felt as if I were the only one who saw these painful references in our classic literature. How can I feed my child a consistent diet of this stuff? Myself as a biracial child growing up in an all-white city in the PNW, I knew the impact this could have on my kids. So I dabbled in the author's blog posts, social media, and conference sessions since and felt the same confirmation as at my first encounter, but THIS BOOK! A Place to Belong takes my understanding to a whole new level of understanding for me. It is very detailed, practical, and applicable. And, perhaps most importantly, the author is somehow able to speak empathetically, knowledgeably, and wisely to both black and white parents simultaneously! She compassionately incorporates the voices of many others beyond and within the black/white dichotomy, as well as those of varying walks of life. It blows me away. I have gathered that her goal is unity—as much as can be attained—through the exposure we give to our kids through the books, experiences, home atmosphere, etc. This book dug deep into my heart and moved beyond the influence of “confirmation” and into conviction and inspiration. So many things clicked for me. Whereas I knew something in our home library had to change, and I added black literature, composers, artists, historical perspectives, etc. here and there I realize that's not what it's really about for me. Not what I've really been looking for. I can't just sprinkle the chocolate shavings on top of the vanilla ice cream, so to speak. We need to go Willy Wonka style and just dive in to the chocolate! (My analogy, not the author's—I know it's a bad one, but I'm sure you feel me.) This type of shift into *more* freedom and more solid conviction—the bringing me into a deeper understanding of the “why” that already existed within me is probably too much for me to go into here. But I will say, that by God's grace and his apparent calling on this lady “for such a time as this”, it has come through each chapter in this moving book.