Book - Brown Baby: A Memoir of Race, Family and Home by Nikesh Shukla

My most anticipated memoir of the last couple of years is riveting from the start. 

Brown Baby is written to the author’s daughter and so has bits of history thrown in. Such as why (and when) did we change from saying ‘coloured’ to ‘black’ to ‘people of colour’. The latter is not a term I imagine, familiar to many Africans.

The dreadful  BAME is quoted as being one Latino community away from BLAME. And ‘First World problems’ as the author reminds us have many of the same problems as the rest of us.

And then there’s that recurring theme of memoirs that mention race, racism is proving yourself over and over.  Indeed. When someone says in the school playground (I do hope it sopped there for you) that you smell, you prove you don't and tell them you showered this morning. If someone says you have no culture - you prove otherwise.

Just stop proving it. 

Brown Baby is more of and an ode to fatherhood disguised as a beautiful memoir and is wonderful for it.