Ahhhh…I finally got to Gab's (or Nicki’s? 😉) Union’s book of essays “We’re Going to Need More Wine.” I wanted to read this since it came out and a sequel has since been published. I did enjoy this book a lot! Union was a great narrator, I LOL’ed many times and I loved the timeline from when she was a kid, her teen years, her rise in Hollywood, to even her marriage to Dwayne Wade. I probably first saw Union on an episode of “7th Heaven,” so I’ve been following her for years! What I appreciated about her essays was the raw honesty. It wasn’t boilerplate. She, well, spilled tea, kept it real about her mistakes, her tries, mishaps, and that as well of her friends, family, boyfriends, and first husband. She’s lived a full life! Her essays also touched on not just personal yet universal topics but societal issues that concern race, gender, age, sexual violence, and especially for BIPOC individuals, the impact and influence of colorism, texturism, and featurism. As not just a fan of hers for years but a fellow BIPOC, there was something very “at home” about reading (okay, listening to) Union’s work. It was well-written but real. She wasn’t trying to be a writer here. It’s great storytelling.

This collection of stories from Gabrielle Union was powerful. I listened on audiobook. Hearing her talk about how she came into her own identity, and how she supports the children she is raising alongside her husband, was very enlightening and also sobering at times. Her last story brought tears to my eyes. Her struggle with issues that exist around parenthood, step-parenthood, and IVF hit me hard. Her description of her rape and how the men around her took it so personally - that was extremely hard hitting and resonated with me strongly. All of the book was well written and I enjoyed hearing her tell the story through the audiobook. That said, I wanted to know a little bit more about how she became an actress: what made her want to go into this field? I wanted a little more of her story, her background. But all I did hear pulled me in.