Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of <i>Raising Our Hands</i> in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

<h4 style="margin-top: 84px;">The Gist</h4>

<i>Raising Our Hands</i> by Jenna Arnold presents itself as a call to action, blending memoir and activism, but falls short of delivering a truly impactful narrative. While the author's intentions are clear and commendable, the execution of the book leaves much to be desired.

<h4>The Details</h4>

One of the major drawbacks is the uneven balance between personal anecdotes and the broader discussion of social issues. Arnold's memoir often overshadows the promised manifesto for activism, leaving readers wanting more substance and depth in terms of concrete strategies for social change.

The nonlinear structure of the narrative, while attempting to be innovative, ends up feeling disjointed and confusing. The constant shift between the author's personal experiences and broader sociopolitical analyses may alienate readers seeking a more cohesive and focused exploration of the book's themes.

Moreover, Arnold's writing style, while accessible, occasionally lacks the nuance required for the complex issues she addresses. The narrative tends to oversimplify intricate social problems, potentially doing a disservice to the depth and gravity of these issues.

While the book's intent is to inspire action, it may leave some readers feeling more overwhelmed than empowered. The lack of a clear roadmap for tangible change, combined with the book's structural and stylistic issues, detracts from its potential impact as an activist manifesto.

<h4>The Verdict</h4>

Overall, <i>Raising Our Hands</i> falls short of its ambitious goals. Jenna Arnold's memoir, while heartfelt, lacks the depth and coherence necessary to effectively inspire and guide readers toward meaningful social activism.

This is a good primer for white women just coming to anti-racism work, and gives practical examples from Arnold's own life of where she's messed up and learned from her mistakes, which definitely stops this book from feeling too overwhelming or academic. However, like other white writers working in this field, it does sometimes feel like Arnold is not being as forthright as needed. I therefore think this is a great book for white women just starting out on a journey to dismantle their own racism and become better activists and allies, but for someone who has read extensively on anti-racism movements and Black history in particular, there may be some frustration and a feeling of having read all this before.

Interesting book, hopeful and necessary being read by any woman, actually, the author made and incredible research and you'll feel and learn much.

I struggled a bit with this book, which I think was written to be accessible, but, for me, skims too much along the surface and never dives deeply into what is a very complex set of issues. The style of the book itself, filled with emojis and too many sidenotes, made it hard for me to take the book as seriously as I'd have liked to.

This book is so necessary. While others may have written more concise or eloquent anti racism manifests, Jenna Arnold's treaty to her fellow white women is utterly timely, compassionate, urgent, and important.

Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold is a non-fiction book written to help the white, female reader to educate themselves on a variety of social issues and end the collective silence and inaction from white women. The author touches on several conversations including racism, police brutality, privilege, societal expectations, and more. I enjoyed the author included citations for when they referenced other work and frequently found myself looking through to learn more. I also enjoyed the author's voice which was open and not judgemental, which I think some white readers may believe when first picking up this book. I do think stylistically the writing seemed more similar to an article or blog and I would have preferred a bit more polish as a book. I think this book had the potential to be very powerful, but I think the focus on breadth, rather than depth made this fall a bit flat for me personally. Regardless, if you prefer less academic books and are new to learning, this may be a great start for some white women!

Many thanks to the publisher BenBella Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Was not what I was expecting. Was hoping for more but it felt that this book was published just to jump on the bandwagon of people trying to appear very non-racist.. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to try this one.

I’m a white woman who has invested a good chunk of the last 4 years of my professional/personal life into equity work. The format of the book, the vague quotes/info, the sit down chats with women of roughly the same age, etc. we’re not what I was hoping for when I read the description. Maybe it is just better suited for folks who are at an earlier place in the journey than me.

From one white woman to another/others: Every white woman needs to read this book, even if it is only to increase your self-awareness.

I cannot speak for everyone, but I know that I want to be a better ally to those who need it. To do this, I am committed to ongoing education and personal growth on the topics of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc…which leads to reading as many books as I can on these topics. I have had a lot of really uncomfortable conversations with myself in doing this, while examining biases and googling things I am/was admittedly ignorant about. This book is hands down one of the most powerful resources I have come across to date.

I need to say it again: This book is powerful. The author breaks down a range of topics in simple and very thoughtful terms. She carefully points out that we do not have time to wait – we need to stand up now, confront our privilege and biases to transform ourselves into the allies we need to be. This is a battle of the species and we should all be on the same team: the one committed to dismantling oppressive systems.

While the organization of the book does seem scatterbrained at times, I do like that it is written as more of a personal conversation than an academic lecture. As someone who works on a rural campus where these issues come up regularly, I have witnessed how difficult it is for people to examine themselves; impossible if you are lecturing at them. If you need proof, read any comment section on social media right now. Maybe this approach won't cause them to slam the book closed and throw it before even reaching Chapter 2.

I guess it is worth noting that this is the perspective I am looking at it from: using it on a college campus. So in that regard, whether you are just starting your self-work in these areas or you have been speaking up/out for years, this book can provide useful background/insight and tips for pushing forward.

I think this book is very important and talking about white women's responsibility to actively promote anti-racism is essential to equality. However, I think the book's poor organization and formatting really distracts from this, as the point fails to be driven home. This read more like a long Times op-ed rather than a social science book.

I think that there is some essential information here. However, the presentation and writing are poor (to the point of detracting from good content). More helpful would be to actively participate in the author’s Learning Circles.