Loving Corrections (Emergent Strategy #12)

This selection of prescient, compassionate essays explores patterns we engage in that are rooted in limited thinking. Through a lens of “loving correction” rather than mere critique, author adrienne maree brown helps us reimagine how to hold ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities accountable by setting clear boundaries, engaging in reflection, and nurturing honest relationships. ‘Loving Corrections’ is divided into two sections, with the first portion featuring new essays including “A Word for White People” and “Relinquishing the Patriarchy” and writing on topics like moving from fragility to fortitude, disability, and navigating critique within activist communities. The second section expands and updates pieces from brown’s popular monthly column “Murmurations” in YES! Magazine that explore accountability–within oneself and community–with depth, inventiveness, and empathy. Along with allowing us more authentic access to ourselves and to each other, the “corrections” in the book’s title are intended to explore and break identity-based patterns including white supremacy, fragility, patriarchy, and ableism. brown also offers practical guidance on how to apologize and be accountable from our nuanced positions of power, history, and resources. Building on her previous work–especially ‘Holding Change’ and ‘We Will Not Cancel Us’ – brown reminds us how much we need each other: “It is only through relationship that we learn how to be, understand our impact on others and explore small shifts that may yield remarkable collective change.”