The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho

This is the best kind of book about important questions. One that doesn't preach or try to convert with the answers, but rather focuses on how to ask the questions with empathy ... and to really listen to the answers.

Should you call someone Black or African American? Is there a difference? When the author writes about really being Nigerian American - not African American, I could relate. I'm Asian American, but I'm also Indian American. Which is, of course, entirely different from being American Indian. Yes, it's confusing. And uncomfortable for some people, as the title of the book says.

There's a reason these conversations are uncomfortable. Because they are worth having, and they don't lead to easy answers. That's kind of the point. But rather than offering that as permission to leave things at a frustrating "it is what it is" impasse, Acho turns it into the fuel for the most memorable type of conversation. The one where you confront your own view of the world, shift your perspective, and see the world just a little bit different without losing your sense of who you are in the process.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man delivers this perspective, and that alone makes it worth your time to read. No matter what color you happen to be.

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About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.