My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies

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Menakem: That’s right. That’s right. Right there. That’s the energy. Einstein said energy cannot be created nor destroyed. But it can be thwarted. It can be manipulated. It can be moved around.

Second, I really felt like the author was very Loosey-goosey with his understanding and application of some of the science in the book such as epigenetics. He seemed to only call to it when attempting to make a point and, in my opinion, failed. A powerful section is geared to law enforcement, asking them to make an inventory and explore sensations at the end of a workday. Menakem: That’s it. All of your intelligence, all of the smart things you’ve done — this is one of the things that happens with me when I come off the stage and I’m doing like, a book signing. One of the first things that happens is that white people will invariably come up to me and start rolling out their racial resume: “Well, you know, I marched with such-and-such. And you know, I did this, and you know, I did that.”

Menakem: [ laughs] So what happened was, I asked one question. I said, “How many people in here believe in diversity?” Everybody shot their hands up. Boom. Everybody. I said, “Answer this one next question.” And I said, “Don’t bring your hands down. Answer this question. Diverse from what?” Menakem: That’s right — “I’m gonna get rid of it. I’m gonna go do some yoga, I’m gonna eat a whole bunch of kale.” [ laughs] But “I’m gonna do this thing…” Menakem, Remaa (2017) My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies , Central Recovery Press. As well, the author leads us to examine intergenerational trauma—traumatic events that affected parents and grandparents.

Fifth, he introduces new terms such as “dirty and clean pain” and “the soul nerve” and while it’s not necessarily bad, I felt it was completely useless and seemed like he was trying to hard to make up something new for some reason.

Experiencing Clean Pain

Tippett: Resmaa Menakem has a clinical practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and teaches and presents widely. His books include the New York Times best-selling My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. I was so excited to read this book and really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, it really missed the mark for me. While the author has a clear writing style, I felt that so many points were repeated over and over again in an unnecessary way. Almost like the author didn’t trust his readers so understand the points. I really liked that this book attempted to take a deep look at trauma and how important it is for us all to work through it. I completely agree with it. I think that was the saving grace of this book as it is what he spends a majority of the book on. Beyond that, I have many complaints. Menakem, Remaa. (2020) “Why We’re All Suffering from Racial Trauma (Even White People) — and How to Handle It.” Ten Percent Happier Podcast with Dan Harris. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/ podcast/why-were-all- suffering-from-racial-trauma- even-white/id1087147821?i= 1000482826916 Menakem also challenges the myth of white body fragility and pain sensitivity that too often distracts attention from the problem of racism and elicits cautious caregiving from other white enablers and BIPOC bodies that have been conditioned to sooth and comfort white bodies. Tippett: There’s a line from you, which really is what this all comes down to — which is just so kind of [ laughs] sad to think that this is basic human reality — that “all adults need to learn how to soothe and anchor themselves rather than expect or demand that others soothe them. And all adults need to heal and grow up.” And so many of the things we’ve done in this culture, especially around the invention of whiteness, allows people to avoid developing the full range, or inhibits people from developing the full range of being a grownup.

Offers a step-by-step healing process based on the latest neuroscience and somatic healing methods, in addition to incisive social commentary. The idea that losing weight will make one less reactive is fat phobic/harmful and does not seem to be based on any sort of truth except for the readers opinion. Menakem: Exactly right. So if I’m a 13-year-old white boy, and I get on the internet, and I see symbol, I see rules of admonishment, rules of acceptance, a tone, a cadence, a dress, an understanding, a rhythm — so I’m not just talking about just the things that we see, the dress and stuff like that. I’m talking about the glue — the resonant and dissonant glue that holds things together. Menakem asserts that myth and reenactment of white fragility obstructs progress, and maintains white body supremacy. Menakem challenges white fragility, and counters that white bodies are not fragile, and are fully capable of becoming resourced enough to tolerate antiracism.Guided Imagery: Body work guided imagery exercises of safe, secure situations, as well as threatening ones.