Why I Wrote A Memoir And How You Can Support It
"When They Tell You To Be Good" is out with Tin House Books on 10.4.22
Dear MWL Community,
In 2016, I went to Standing Rock to help resist the Dakota Access Pipeline. On one of my first mornings there, I woke up to a beautiful, fuchsia-pink sunrise and read a beloved book outside of my tent. As the weeks passed and the police violence continued, I became afraid of loud, sharp noises that reminded me of the stun grenades, and began to think more about my father, about death, and when the world, which seemed so intent on this sordid mission, would kill me. It was around that time I said to a friend, “I don’t think I’ll make it past 30 like this.”
It is in this dark place that I found the courage to cultivate the seeds of When They Tell You To Be Good. In many ways, I hope this memoir is one example of how to love a daring, queer life of travel, of uncertainty, and of forging forward anyway; ranging from writing about being radicalized by Black Lives Matter in 2015, contending with double consciousness and anti-blackness while traveling, unpacking numerous forms of masculinity in black and Caribbean culture, and charting my family’s history in Jamaica alongside the island’s independence in 1962. This book is a liberation.
In When They Tell You To Be Good, I explore these experiences and so many more. I am humbled and excited that the book will be available for readers on October 4, and I ask for your support from the bottom of my heart. Preordering a book helps generate buzz, which means a lot to marginalized writers, like myself. But more than buzz, I appreciate your support and love along the way.
With gratitude,
Prince Shakur
PRESS