I Got My Life! An Evening with Amanda Seales #SmallDosesBook
“Her podcast sheds light on the black experience, pro-feminist choices, friendship, business, sexual conduct, and more. She pokes fun, provides, a good laugh, but doesn’t shy away from delving into the nitty-gritty. ”
I was edified, to say the least. To know Amanda Seales is to be in touch with late 90’s pop culture, and to LOVE her, is to respect and relegate her view points. I have been a fan of Amanda Seales’ for a long time now. I was with Blavity when we did a digital activation of her then web series, Get Yo’ Life (which I tried to put everyone on to), and my admiration grew from there.
Her podcast followed years later, and changed my life entirely. When I tell you, I did not listen to a SINGLE podcast until I discovered Small Doses, you would think I’m bluffing. But I am being FOR SERIOUS. To this day, Small Doses is the only podcast that I follow. Her whit, energy, and incomparable articulation is the winning formula. Her book, of the same name, made a splash early this week.
Somewhere between my depletion of iPhone storage, and excavating Instagram: I had ZERO clue this book was coming into fruition anytime soon, and not THIS SOON. I received the book as a surprise, a gift even, from a good friend of mine - a sister - who knew I had been zero dark thirty, (as the season calls for (my hibernation season)) but more so than usual. I opened my mailbox, and I was very shocked when I unearthed what the Amazon envelope entailed. Her book is beautiful. It’s exactly how I would want my book to look: colorful, creative, and internally aesthetically pleasing.
Her book is basically a long-form, essay version of her podcast, which I have no problem with, at all! I used to post little (elaborate) think pieces in my Instagram story to further speak on her podcast episodes, at least, bi-weekly. Her podcast sheds light on the black experience, pro-feminist choices, friendship, business, sexual conduct, and more. She pokes fun, provides, a good laugh, but doesn’t shy away from delving into the nitty-gritty. And believe me, she will name names if it emphasizes the intent. One truly has to appreciate her view points in order to truly welcome her work. However, if you don’t agree with her, there is a good chance she will expand your paradigm, at the very least.
I had a question last night, and Paul Wharton gestured to me, however we ran out of time. Amanda’s answers were a bit lengthy during the Q&A portion of the book signing (hosted by Mahogany Books), but it didn’t matter because we were eating it all up. We were living for everything she gave us.
Anyway, as you can imagine, I had a lot to say when I finally met her. The resounding message among all my gibberish, however, was that I wanted her to know that every single day, including yesterday, of all days, she reminds me that not every injustice has to be a revolution. (Although I stay ready. I keep the troops assembled.) There isn’t a day that any of her poignant words don’t ring true in the back of my head.
Thank you for a great evening, Mahogany Books, thank you for your participation, Amanda, and thank you, Chidinma for making this all possible! My entire week changed directly, in the course of 48 hours. My first post is dedicated to you. xx
