Withstanding the Lie

Judicious and wise, Withstanding the Lie: A Self-Help Book by Roger L. Brewer and Nicole Brewer provides stark images of the modern world to highlight the continued backlash of bigotry and racism. Far from content, America’s schools, courts, and workplaces are often battlegrounds that foster strife, humiliation, and disgrace. Minorities continue to be excluded and denied simple rights based on their physical appearance, language, or origin. In seven chapters with subtitles such as “Know Harm, Know Foul” and “Liberating from the Illusion,” the authors examine the myths of acceptance and the dangers of hostility. A powerful blend of vignettes and firsthand anecdotes of race, ethnicity, and otherness prove a formidable defense to hegemony. As the authors break the barriers of stereotypes and what it truly means to be different, they demonstrate how transgressions meant to destroy victims have little power. The time for self-awareness and self-empowerment is now.