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Rapper, activist, and hip-hop rebel, Sister Souljah possesses the most passionate and articulate voice to emerge from the projects. Now she uses that voice to deliver what is at once a fiercely candid autobiography and a survival manual for any African American woman determined to keep her heart open and her integrity intact in 1990s America.
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1St Edition edition (January 30, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679767088
ISBN-13: 978-0679767084
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (202 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #38,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #62 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Sociology > Marriage & Family #78 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Minority Studies #136 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > African-American & Black
This book was given to me as a gift and I had no idea that I would enjoy it as much as I did. All I knew about Souljah at the time was that she was a controversial sista who used to hang out with Public Enemy. But this is not your average autobiography. The way she tells her story and names her chapters after characters in the order that they appear in her life was very unique. Her characters were well developed, especially Nicki. Miss thang was a trip! The unexpected turns that happen in Souljah's life, the disappointments, the triumphs, the crazy people in her life will keep you up at night constantly turning pages. This is a great first novel by Souljah and I am eagerly awaiting her next project.
Sister Souljah became my favorite writer when I finished The Coldest Winter Ever. I just loved it! This led me to read No Disrespect. The book begins discussing her childhood and how her parents marriage came to end, and as a result her family moved into the projects. Throughout the book she refers to her beauty. She always describes her full figure and constantly compares herself to other women. This became a little boring, until it finally clicks that even with her physical beauty and inner strength, she was extremely vulnerable. She experienced so many trials and tribulations, even though she was well known and respected in the black community.I cannot say enough about this book. Her honesty became clear to me in the end. That I really appreciate. Her depiction of "Black America" is most accurate. I have stated many of these things myself. Read this book only if you're not easily offended (black or white) and if you really want to grow as a person. My props to Sister Souljah for living up to my expectations.!
Like many reviewers, I purchased this book after thoroughly enjoying The Coldest Winter Ever. As I read the introduction, I began to think that this was going to be a bunch of essays on Black Nationalism, which would be great, but maybe not too different than what I've read many times before. To my delight, as soon as I began reading chapter one, it was evident I was in for a rare treat. Silster Souljah had the courage to honestly share the experiences and life lessons she had as a black woman growing up in poverty and using her education and resilience to try to improve conditions for as many blacks as she could impact. As much as I've read about oppression and the efforts people have made to overcome it, I've never encountered something so personal as she was willing to share in this book. Sure she has strong opinions, and even if I didn't agree with every single one of them, I always understood why she felt the way she did. If you are an empathetic person trying to figure out what life is like for someone who has had strikingly different experiences than your own, or if you've come up in a similar situation to her and want to get some insight on your own experiences that may not have occurred to you, I couldn't recommend this book more highly. If you are closed minded and prude, then go watch a Disney movie instead.
First, I want to say that I really admire what Sister Souljah was trying to do with this book. I mean, how many people just bare it all to the whole world in the hopes that others will learn from their mistakes? Not many! However, I feel this book is still very much limited by the author's own shortcomings. After an emotional and promising beginning, most of this book seems to be about how gorgeous she thinks she is and how let down she's been by black males. She talks about the damage racism has caused blacks all over the world and then espouses intrinsic racial beliefs about people constantly. Basically, she believes in genetic identity: that all black people are spiritually Africans and should probably live separately in their own country. (Should people who are part white and part black spend half their year in one country and then half in the other? What about people who are black, asian and white? Do they need three residences?) At certain points she was sounding uncomfortably like David Duke to me. And, when she runs into something she doesn't understand, such as homosexuality or white women who admire African culture, her first, middle, and last impulse is to judge and condemn. Her later novel The Coldest Winter Ever contains all the lessons this book was meant to, with only a sliver of the bigotry toward gays and anyone other than religious blacks. I would definitely recommend that book with five full stars, over this one. Yet while I didn't agree with much she had to say, this was a very moving, well written memoir. I still gotta give her respect for the fact that she cares so much about the situation of blacks in America that she is willing to put herself on the line for the cause.
Every one of us chooses our station in life, a position from which we posture our convictions and beliefs; which without apology Sister Souljah is no different.Admittedly I wasn't warmed by the opening. It took turning to a page just about in the middle of the book, (page 109 to be exact), and reading from there for a few pages before going back to the beginning to understand this woman's philosophies, and where she's coming from.After that, from beginning to end I didn't want to close the book. Anyone who advocates for children wins me over, before and after all else. Of course there is much more to Sister Souljah's autobiography than the children she crusades for; she had to go through some things before reaching a platform from which she could stage her fight to help empower disenfranchised children.Other spots that engaged me as well; her relationship with her family, and as well other relationships... Nathan (of course being the premier), but also Joseph...(Sonya's spiel was truly potent), and Chance I just adored...at first! And that incident in Baltimore had me in stitches. Oh, that was one of a special kind of hilarious. Nikki was interesting, and also that talk on lesbianism with Mona. Tusani, and her mother Nita, just may have been the most stirring. It was the message behind the mother's message that I found tremendous; one where although it wasn't written, I felt wasn't lost on Sister Souljah either--the other thing I found impressive...her openness to hear what the people she was trying to help, and as well all of those she forged relationships with, were saying.I highly recommend `No Disrespect.' I really want to go on and on here, but in summary this work is as compassionate as it is passionate, intellectual, and outstanding.
No Disrespect
