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Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 783548 Title: Homes for Living: The Fight for Social Housing and a New American Commons Author: Jonathan Tarleton Narrator: Max Newland Format: Unabridged Length: 6:00:00 Language: English Release date: 02-11-25 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: History, Non-Fiction, Politics, World, Social Science, Public Policy Summary: A tale of two NYC affordable housing co-ops’ struggle over privatization, public goods, and the future of American housing The American Dream of homeownership is becoming an American Delusion. As renters seek an escape from record-breaking rent hikes, first-time buyers find that skyrocketing interest rates and historically low inventory leave them with scant options for an affordable place to live. With home valued more than ever as a commodity, even social housing programs meant to insulate families from cut-throat markets are under threat—sometimes by residents themselves. In Homes for Living, urban planner and oral historian Jonathan Tarleton introduces readers to two social housing co-ops in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Longtime residents of St. James Towers and Southbridge Towers lock horns over whether to maintain the rules that have kept their homes affordable for decades or to cash out at great personal profit, thereby denying future generations the same opportunity to build thriving communities rooted in mutual care. With a deft hand for mapping personal histories atop the greater housing crisis, Tarleton explores housing as a public good, movements for tenant rights and Indigenous sovereignty, and questions of race and class to lay bare competing visions of what ownership means, what homes are for, and what neighbors owe each other. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 797715 Title: Perfect Rom-Com Author: Melissa Ferguson Narrator: Karissa Vacker Format: Unabridged Length: 9:27:00 Language: English Release date: 02-11-25 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Genres: Romance, Rom-Com, Contemporary, Clean & Wholesome Summary: She's written dozens of smash hit romance novels. Too bad no one knows it. Aspiring author Bryony Page attends her first writers conference bursting with optimism and ready to sell her manuscript with long-shot dreams of raising awareness for The Bridge, her grandmother's financially struggling organization where she teaches ESL full-time. But after a disastrous pitch session, she stumbles into correcting another author's work in a last-ditch attempt to make a good impression with the agent. And she, as it turns out, is spot on. No one is more surprised than Bryony when the agent offers her the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for Amelia Benedict, popular rom-com novelist. Bryony agrees on one condition: she'll write books for this vain, demanding woman just as long as Jack Sterling, literary agent of the legendary Foundry Literary Agency, works to sell her own book too. What nobody predicted, however, was that Bryony's books would turn Amelia Benedict into the Amelia Benedict, household name and bestselling author with millions of copies sold around the world. And just like that, the Foundry Agency can't let her go. But on a personal note, Jack is realizing he can't either. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 778638 Title: Counterculture: The Story of America from Bohemia to Hip-Hop Author: Alex Zamalin Narrator: Dan Levy Format: Unabridged Length: 6:00:00 Language: English Release date: 02-04-25 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: Biography & Memoir, Non-Fiction, North America, Social Science, History & Culture Summary: A political and intellectual history of American counterculture and the historical figures who redefined mainstream understandings of freedom, culture, art, and politics—from The Beat Generation to Basquiat This entertaining, intellectual history fulfills the growing appetite for marginalized narratives. Counterculture brilliantly interrogates the diversity of counterculture and the interwoven relationship between each individual legacy. From Anarchism to the Harlem Renaissance, Alex Zamalin unveils the humanity behind these romanticized figures and popularized movements to capture revolutionary freedom in action. American counterculture, defined as a movement whose values are outside and oppositional to mainstream norms and whose practices fundamentally reject what is socially respectable, ultimately transformed the 20th century. With key players: - Emma Goldman - Billie Holiday - Allen Ginsberg - Amiri Baraka - Jean-Michel Basquiat And key movements: - Anarchism - Black Bohemia - The Harlem Renaissance - The Beat Generation - The Black Arts Movement - Hip-Hop Counterculture reaches new depths, tackling a wide range of historical, social, and political topics, and expanding contemporary understandings of American cultural tradition. At a time when counterculture was on the outskirts of American society, Alex Zamalin explores the reason why. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 775552 Title: Slavery After Slavery: Revealing the Legacy of Forced Child Apprenticeships on Black Families, from Emancipation to the Present Author: Mary Frances Berry Narrator: Jasmin Walker Format: Unabridged Length: 6:00:00 Language: English Release date: 01-21-25 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: History, Non-Fiction, North America, Social Science Summary: An acclaimed historian narrates the stories of newly emancipated children who were re-enslaved by white masters through apprenticeships and their parents fights to free them While the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, white southerners established a system of apprenticeship after the Civil War that entrapped Black children and their families, leading to undue hardships for generations to come. In Slavery After Slavery, historian Mary Frances Berry traces the stories behind individual cases from southern supreme courts to demonstrate how formerly enslaved families and their descendants were systemically injured through white supremacist practices, perpetuated by the legal system. By filling in the family trees of formerly enslaved people to their descendants, Berry documents the intergenerational harm they experienced. The resulting damage of trafficking Black children through apprenticeship laws has been a largely overlooked source of inequality, yet these cases provide specific examples of the kind of economic and physical harm Black families have endured. Slavery After Slavery tells individual stories, but the fates of their descendants tell our collective American story—contributing powerfully to a case for reparations and restorative justice. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 775551 Title: No Human Involved: The Serial Murder of Black Women and Girls and the Deadly Cost of Police Indifference Author: Cheryl L. Neely Narrator: Karen Chilton Format: Unabridged Length: 6:00:00 Language: English Release date: 01-21-25 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: Non-Fiction, Social Science Summary: An urgent examination of the invisibility of Black women and girls as victims of targeted killings, and the lack of police intervention and media coverage When Black women and girls are targeted and murdered their cases are often categorized by police officers as “N.H.I.” – “No Humans Involved.” Dehumanized and invisible to the public eye, they are rarely seen as victims. In the United States, Black women are killed at a higher rate than any other group of women, but their victimhood is not covered by the media and their cases do not receive an adequate level of urgency. Utilizing intensive historical research of cases in cities such as Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angles, Cheryl Neely calls attention to serial cases of Black female murder victims and a lack of police action. Neely approaches each case and story with detailed care. Instead of focusing solely on the killings and the murderers, she highlights the lives of the women and girls and their communities that never stopped fighting for justice. With media neglect and police indifference, Neely argues that because law enforcement is less likely to conduct serious investigations into the disappearances and homicides of Black women, they are particularly vulnerable to become victims. Diving deep into the unseen and unheard, Neely uses personal interviews, court records, media reports, and analytical data to understand how and why Black women are disproportionately more likely to die from homicide in comparison to their white counterpoints. Sounding an urgent alarm, No Human Involved contends that it is time for Black women’s lives to matter not only to their families and communities, but especially to those commissioned to protect them. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 778313 Title: Every Home a Foundation: Experiencing God through Your Everyday Routines Author: Phylicia Masonheimer Narrator: Lisa Larsen Format: Unabridged Length: 6:25:00 Language: English Release date: 12-17-24 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Self Development, Health & Wellness, Christianity, Parenting Summary: 'The home is the “primary seat of discipleship” from which Christians can best serve God, according to this graceful guide...Masonheimer makes a creative, open-minded case that the domestic and the divine need not be mutually exclusive.' —Publisher’s Weekly What if our homes and the work that goes on inside them are not 'in the way' of our calling but are instead the way to live well and disciple effectively? Reimagine the Christian home as the firm foundation of a life filled with faith, joy, contentment, and belonging, even in the midst of everyday tasks. In Every Home a Foundation, Phylicia Masonheimer invites readers to reconsider their view of home. The Christian home is an image of both a coming spiritual reality and the existing spiritual reality of our family, the church. Through Christ, we can heal and build a home that brings joy to us and love to others. Every Home a Foundation will transform readers' view of home from a place of boredom to a place of purpose, train them to find joy in their daily tasks, and equip them to use their home to love others well by - focusing on healing our view of home and creating a culture of faith; - exploring the purpose in the mundane tasks of the home, including cooking, cleaning, laundry, mending, tending, and creating beauty; - and learning the importance of hospitality and creating a covenant home culture.   Masonheimer offers a unique perspective on the importance of home in a modern world. Home is much more than a physical structure—it's a place of belonging and connection that has been strongly tied to God's mission from the beginning. God wants to build a home for His people, emphasizing the importance of homes as central for the Christian life. With an enthusiastic and friendly tone, Every Home a Foundation is sure to have readers reflecting on the importance of home in our lives and how we must strive to protect and honor it in all its forms. Sample schedules and book recommendations can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.  Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 666297 Title: Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Author: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Narrator: Shaun Taylor-Corbett Format: Unabridged Length: 9:49:00 Language: English Release date: 11-19-24 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: History, Non-Fiction, Politics, North America, Social Science, Political Advocacy Summary: New York Times Bestseller This American Book Award winning title about Native American struggle and resistance radically reframes more than 400 years of US history   A New York Times Bestseller and the basis for the HBO docu-series Exterminate All the Brutes, directed by Raoul Peck, this 10th anniversary edition of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States includes both a new foreword by Peck and a new introduction by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Unflinchingly honest about the brutality of this nation’s founding and its legacy of settler-colonialism and genocide, the impact of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s 2014 book is profound. This classic is revisited with new material that takes an incisive look at the post-Obama era from the war in Afghanistan to Charlottesville’s white supremacy-fueled rallies, and from the onset of the pandemic to the election of President Biden. Writing from the perspective of the peoples displaced by Europeans and their white descendants, she centers Indigenous voices over the course of four centuries, tracing their perseverance against policies intended to obliterate them. Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. With a new foreword from Raoul Peck and a new introduction from Dunbar Ortiz, this classic bottom-up peoples’ history explodes the silences that have haunted our national narrative. Big Concept Myths That America's founding was a revolution against colonial powers in pursuit of freedom from tyranny That Native people were passive, didn’t resist and no longer exist That the US is a “nation of immigrants” as opposed to having a racist settler colonial history Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 767112 Title: I Think I Was Murdered Author: Colleen Coble, Rick Acker Narrator: Karen Peakes Format: Unabridged Length: 9:46:21 Language: English Release date: 11-11-24 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Genres: Romance, Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Religious & Inspirational, Detective Stories Summary: A grieving young widow. The AI program that allows her to continue to “talk” to her husband. And a message she never expected: “I think I was murdered.” Just a year ago, Katrina Berg was at the pinnacle of her career. She was a rising star in the AI chatbot start-up everyone was talking about, married with an adoring husband, and had more money than she knew how to spend. Then her world combusted. Her hus­band, Jason, was killed in a fiery car crash. Her CEO was indicted and, as the company’s legal counsel, Katrina faces tough questions as the Feds take over and lock her out of her office. The final blow is the passing of her beloved grandmother. Her most prized possession is the beta prototype for a new, ultra-sophisticated chatbot loaded onto her phone. The contents of Jason’s email, social media backups, pictures, and every bit of data she could find were loaded into the bot, and Katrina has “talked” to him every day for the past six months. She has been amazed at how well it works. Even the syntax and words the bot uses sound like Jason. Sometimes, she imagines he isn’t really dead and is right there beside her. She knows it’s slowing her grief recovery, but she can’t stop pretending. On a particularly bad day, she taps out: Tell me something I don’t know. The cursor blinks for several moments and seems frozen before the reply flashes quickly onto the screen: I think I was murdered. Distraught, Katrina returns to her cozy Norwegian-flavored hometown in the Northern California redwoods and enlists the help of Seb Wallace, local restaurateur and longtime acquaintance, to try to parse out the truth of what really happened. They must navigate the complicated paths of grief, family dynamics, and second chances, as well as the complex questions of how much control technology has. And staying alive long enough to do that is far more difficult than either of them dreamed. - Contemporary romantic suspense - Stand-alone novel - Book length: approximately 90,000 words - Includes discussion questions for book clubs Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 755196 Title: Don't Build, Rebuild: The Case for Imaginative Reuse in Architecture Author: Aaron Betsky Narrator: Jeff Zinn Format: Unabridged Length: 9:49:34 Language: English Release date: 11-05-24 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: Non-Fiction, Science & Technology, Animals & Nature, Architecture & Design Summary: In a time of climate crisis and housing shortages, a bold, visionary call to replace current wasteful construction practices with an architecture of reuse As climate change has escalated into a crisis, the reuse of existing structures is the only way to even begin to preserve our wood, sand, silicon, and iron, let alone stop belching carbon monoxide into the air. Our housing crisis means that we need usable buildings now more than ever, but architect and critic Aaron Betsky shows that new construction—often seeking to maximize profits rather than resources, often soulless in its feel—is not the answer. Whenever possible, it is better to repair, recycle, renovate, and reuse—not only from an environmental perspective, but culturally and artistically as well. Architectural reuse is as old as civilization itself. In the streets of Europe, you can find fragments from the Roman Empire. More recently, marginalized communities from New York to Detroit—queer people looking for places to gather or cruise, punks looking to make loud music, artists and displaced people looking for space to work and live—have taken over industrial spaces created then abandoned by capitalism, forging a unique style in the process. Their methods—from urban mining to dumpster diving—now inform architects transforming old structures today. Betsky shows us contemporary imaginative reuse throughout the world: the Mexican housing authority transforming concrete slums into well-serviced apartments; the MassMOCA museum, built out of old textile mills; the squatted city of Christiana in Copenhagen, fashioned from an old army base; Project Heidelberg in Detroit. All point towards a new circular economy of reuse, built from the ashes of the capitalist economy of consumption. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 778311 Title: Two Equals One: A Marriage Equation for Love, Laughter, and Longevity Author: Irene Rollins, Jimmy Rollins Narrator: Irene Rollins, Jimmy Rollins, Lisa Larsen Format: Unabridged Length: 6:25:00 Language: English Release date: 10-29-24 Publisher: Thomas Nelson Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Health & Wellness, Disorders & Diseases, Marriage & Family, Counseling & Inspirational Summary: Read by the authors. Uncover the secrets to a thriving marriage. Focusing on reconciling differences and forging true intimacy, Two Equals One emphasizes the crucial roles of communication, understanding, and concerted team effort. 100% of marriages that end in divorce are cited for 'irreconcilable differences.' Things that brought couples together are now tearing them apart. Simple occasional frustrations have morphed into everyday fights causing complex fractures. Marriages are miserable, families are affected, and the equation for a marriage made one is elusive. In Two Equals One, Jimmy and Irene Rollins introduce you to a solution that is counter-cultural to a society that encourages you to give up, to not give your spouse any more chances, or use pain as permission to step out on your spouse. A solution that with two committed people coupled with the power of God can be the equation for a marriage made one. Two Equals One presents the case to stay rather than leave. To lean in rather than let go. To give you a framework and path to discover a marriage equation of love, laughter, and longevity. From tackling tough topics such as addiction and resentment to addressing the impact of neglecting spousal roles, Two Equals One is a comprehensive guide to strengthening and salvaging relationships, while offering practical challenges, prayers, and resources to actively engage couples. Jimmy and Irene will help readers to: - Move from cussing and fussing to communicating and forgiving - Learn tools to have hard conversations that will improve your communication and connection in relationships - Find hope and healing in areas in your relationship where there is real hurt, broken trust, and rebuild your relationship together - Discover how two completely different people can accept, learn from, and leverage their differences to make a marriage made one   Jimmy and Irene encourage couples to identify differences and navigate through them, providing guidance on conflict management and expectation setting. They stand firm in their belief that with effort and commitment, any marriage can overcome challenges and thrive. Your irreconcilable difference can be reconciled. Graphics and resources can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.  Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 752258 Title: Faux Feminism: Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stop Author: Serene Khader Narrator: Sharmila Devar Format: Unabridged Length: 8:47:44 Language: English Release date: 10-29-24 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: Non-Fiction, Politics, Social Science, Political Ideologies Summary: For readers of Hood Feminism and Against White Feminism An incisive examination of why the pillars of feminism have eroded—and how all women, not just the #girlbosses, can rebuild them After over 175 years, the feminist movement, now in its fourth wave, is at risk of collapsing on its eroding foundation. In Faux Feminism, political philosopher Serene Khader advocates for another feminism—one that doesn’t overwhelmingly serve white, affluent #girlbosses. With empathy, passion, and wit, Khader invites the reader to join her as she excavates the movement’s history and draws a blueprint for a more inclusive and resilient future. A feminist myth buster, Khader begins by deconstructing “faux feminisms.” Thought to be the pillars of good feminism, they may appeal to many but, in truth, leave most women behind. Khader identifies these traps that white feminism lays for us all, asking readers to think critically about  –The Freedom Myth: The overarching misconception that feminism is about personal freedom rather than collective equality –The Individualism Myth: The pervasive idea that feminism aims to free individual women from social expectations –The Culture Myth: The harmful misconception that “other” cultures restrict women’s liberation –The Restriction Myth: The flawed belief that feminism is a fight against social restrictions –The Judgment Myth: The fallacy of celebrating women’s choices without first interrogating the privileges afforded or denied to the women In later chapters, Khader draws on global and intersectional feminist lessons of the past and present to imagine feminism’s future. She pays particular attention to women of color, especially those in the Global South. Khader recounts their cultural and political stories of building a more inclusive framework in their societies. These are the women, she argues, from whom today’s feminists can learn. Khader’s critical inquiry begets a new vision of feminism: one that tackles inequality at the societal, not individual, level and is ultimately rooted in community. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 743424 Title: Mad Wife: A Memoir Author: Kate Hamilton Narrator: Amy Landon Format: Unabridged Length: 8:08:30 Language: English Release date: 10-15-24 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: Biography & Memoir, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellness, Marriage & Family, Social Science Summary: Submitting to unwanted sex destroyed Kate’s love for her husband But she considered killing herself before she could imagine leaving In this electrifying literary memoir, Kate Hamilton deftly traces her complicated journey from loving wife to gaslit victim to furious feminist with an urgent goal: to expose how women are pressured to uphold the institutions of marriage and family, no matter the cost. In the tradition of Know My Name and The Argonauts, Hamilton braids her own story with cultural criticism to argue that we must face the misogyny lurking in the shadows of marriage in the 21st century. She examines the beliefs and conditioning that held her in an increasingly destructive marriage and unflinchingly documents what she did to keep her family together—therapy, unwanted sex with her husband, swinging, affairs, an abortion—without always knowing what she freely chose. And she considers the damage that was done, to herself and others, until she could acknowledge that to save herself and her sons, she had to destroy her marriage. Emotionally intense and timely, Mad Wife interrogates how marriage and the institutions that support it provide the perfect ecosystem for abuse of women and children, endangering their lives and denying them autonomy—all in the service of men’s desires. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 742144 Title: What Can We Learn from the Great Depression?: Stories of Ordinary People & Collective Action in Hard Times Author: Dana Frank Narrator: Jenna Rose Stein Format: Unabridged Length: 11:48:43 Language: English Release date: 10-08-24 Publisher: Beacon Press Genres: History, Non-Fiction, North America, Social Science Summary: Four stories of resilience, mutual aid, and radical rebellion that will transform how we understand the Great Depression Drawing on little-known stories of working people, What Can We Learn from the Great Depression? amplifies voices that have been long omitted from standard histories of the Depression era. In four tales, Professor Dana Frank explores how ordinary working people in the US turned to collective action to meet the crisis of the Great Depression and what we can learn from them today. Readers are introduced to - * the 7 daring Black women who worked as wet nurses and staged a sit-down strike to demand better pay and an end to racial discrimination - * the groups who used mutual aid, cooperatives, eviction protests, and demands for government relief to meet their basic needs - * the million Mexican and Mexican American repatriados who were erased from mainstream historical memory, while (often fictitious) white “Dust Bowl migrants” became enshrined - * the Black Legion, a white supremacist fascist organization that saw racism, antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, and fascism as the cure to the Depression While capitalism crashed during the Great Depression, racism did not and was, in fact, wielded by some to blame and oppress their neighbors. Patriarchy persisted, too, undermining the power of social movements and justifying women’s marginalization within them. For other ordinary people, collective action gave them the means to survive and fight against such hostilities. What resulted were powerful new forms of horizontal reciprocity and solidarity that allowed people to provide each other with the bread, beans, and comradeship of daily life. The New Deal, when it arrived, provided vital resources to many, but others were cut off from its full benefits, especially if they were women or people of color. What Can We Learn from the Great Depression? shows us how we might look to the past to think about how we can shape the future of our own failed economy. These lessons can also help us imagine and build movements to challenge such an economy—and to transform the state as a whole—in service to the common good without replicating racism and patriarchy. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 765310 Title: Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems: 1961-2023 Author: Margaret Atwood Narrator: Margaret Atwood Format: Unabridged Length: 9:40:22 Language: English Release date: 10-08-24 Publisher: McClelland & Stewart Genres: Fiction & Literature, Poetry Summary: One of the Toronto Star’s 25 books to read this season • One of Indigo’s Most Anticipated Books An extraordinary career-spanning collection from one of the most revered poets and storytellers of our age. Tracing the legacy of Margaret Atwood—a writer who has fundamentally shaped the contemporary literary landscapes—Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems, 1961–2023 assembles Atwood’s most vital poems in one essential volume.      In pieces that are at once brilliant, beautiful, and hyper-imagined, Atwood gives voice to remarkably drawn characters—mythological figures, animals, and everyday people—all of whom have something to say about what it means to live in a world as strange as our own. “How can one live with such a heart?” Atwood asks, casting her singular spell upon the reader and ferrying us through life, death, and whatever comes next. Atwood, in her journey through poetry, illuminates our most innate joys and sorrows, desires and fears.      Spanning six decades of work—from her earliest beginnings to brand-new poems—this volume charts the evolution of one of our most iconic and necessary authors. Contact: [email protected]

Listen to this audiobook in full for free on https://hotaudiobook.com/free ID: 766041 Title: Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her: On Race, Community, and Black Women in Hockey Author: R. Renee Hess Narrator: R. Renee Hess Format: Unabridged Length: 0:00:00 Language: English Release date: 10-08-24 Publisher: McClelland & Stewart Genres: Non-Fiction, Social Science Summary: From the founder of Black Girl Hockey Club, a collection of deeply insightful and piercing essays shedding light on the history of Black excellence in hockey, the future of Black joy within the sport, and the ways we can all do better when it comes to recognizing—and upheaving—systemic and institutionalized racism. Growing up, R. Renee Hess didn’t care about hockey. In fact, she was barely aware of it. She was born and raised in Southern California, hardly a hotbed for the game, despite the state having three NHL teams. But, as Hess puts it, she is “a fan of being a fan,” and when she found herself stuck in traffic after a Pittsburgh Penguins game, the streets filled with cheers, something sparked within her. Ever since Hess made that discovery, she has been actively trying to bust the myth that “Black folks don’t like hockey.” In this collection, Hess shares her hockey origin story and how she came to recognize hockey culture’s lack of authentic engagement with Black communities, tracing her journey to becoming a true game changer. But, as an academic, Hess knows that her singular viewpoint can’t tell the full story, so she reached out to former hockey players, league executives, activists, fans, media, and to the parents and youth shaping the future of the game. We hear directly from players such as Sarah Nurse and Saroya Tinker; from trailblazers like Bernice Carnegie and Kim Davis; and from the collective of Black Girl Hockey Club scholarship awardees and their families, emphasizing the importance of community and support for marginalized players. The result is a hockey book truly unlike any other. With essays that touch on representation and harmful stereotypes, the many nuanced aspects of biracial identity, being the only person of colour in the room, and the virtues of a lively group chat, Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her is a love letter to Black women everywhere, as well as a scathing ode to a game that Hess loves, even if it doesn't always love her back. Contact: [email protected]