They told me I should be grateful. I disagreed.
Dear Friends,
In my first book, I wrote about what it was like to sit at the table as a Black woman working in white spaces. The awkward glances, the quiet exclusions, the small humiliations I tried to swallow with a smile. Back then, I was expected to be grateful. Just being in the room was supposed to be enough.
But no more.
In FULL OF MYSELF, I share the story of how that changed — starting with a job interview where I finally told the truth. I refused the polished answer. I refused the safe answer. I chose the honest one.
And while I'd like to tell you that I did so from a well of great courage, the truth is I did it because I had to. I was just so tired. I couldn't bear to sit at another table, where I was expected to perform gratitude, while I choked down all the injustices of being rendered invisible.
They asked what I’d do if a group of drunk athletes were being disruptive outside the dorms at 3 am. I told them I wouldn’t confront them alone because, as a Black woman on a predominantly white campus, that felt like a potentially dangerous proposition. And I wasn’t going to pretend this place was a bastion of racial inclusion just to get the job.
They still offered it.
That moment unlocked something in me. Because here’s the thing: the table isn’t enough if we can’t be ourselves when we sit down.
This book is for everyone who’s ever had to shrink to fit. I’m done with shrinking. Let’s build spaces where we can breathe. And thrive.
One part bold, three parts over it,
Austin