A Book Talk with Patrice Gopo

Join us for an author talk with award-winning essayist Patrice Gopo!

We Deserve to Heal: Black Women on the Perils and Promises of Friendship with White Women features ten essays from Black women asking the question, "Can Black women have thriving friendships with white women in a society steeped in the realities of racism?"

Patrice Gopo, editor of this collection, will join us at Bookmarks to share more about the book and this topic. Patrice is an award-winning essayist living in North Carolina.

Register for this free event and make plans to join us! Pre-purchase the book with your registration or pick up a copy at the bookstore.

Have any questions? Check out our Event FAQs page and email events@bookmarksnc.org for further inquiries.

About the Book

"We tell these parts of our stories in order to heal from hurt and honor the ways we have been healing."—Patrice Gopo, from the introduction

Can Black women have thriving friendships with white women in a society steeped in the realities of racism? Can such friendships experience the presence of genuine mutuality?

We Deserve to Heal: Black Women on the Perils and Promises of Friendship with White Women features essays from ten intergenerational Black women who consider these questions through themes such as identity, belonging, rupture, and freedom. This powerful and perceptive anthology speaks honestly of the beauty and the struggles, the welcome and the wounds. Each piece pairs with a response from another contributor, fostering an innovative conversation throughout the entirety of the book. While patterns emerge, the stories revealed by each writer are vast and dynamic.

By centering Black women's voices, We Deserve to Heal actively cultivates authenticity, truth-telling, liberation, and healing. This collection offers validation for Black women and other women of color and also encourages greater compassion within any reader hoping to discover more. Patrice Gopo has edited a book, rooted in relationships, that empowers those who take time with these words to challenge and expand their understanding of friendship.

About the Author

Patrice Gopo is an award-winning essayist who writes words that touch wounds and speak to the hope of healing. She is the editor of the essay anthology We Deserve to Heal: Black Women on the Perils & Promises of Friendship with White Women (University Press of Kentucky). Her essay collections include Autumn Song, recipient of the inaugural Pattis Family Foundation Creative Arts Book Award, and All the Colors We Will See, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Patrice lives with her family in North Carolina, where she enjoys walks just after dawn and thinks a perfect day ends with ice cream. Find her online at patricegopo.com. Click here to read the We Deserve to Heal illustrated companion essay.