It’s the first Saturday of the month, so time once again for a Six Degrees post – hooray! Find out more about this meme over at host Kate’s blog.

This month we are starting with Sally Rooney’s Normal People.  I have not read this book, but was glued to the TV series.

So what is normal?  For my first link, I have chosen Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie.  I really enjoyed reading this powerful book and learned so much from it too.  This particular quote really struck home:

“The only reason you say that race was not an issue is because you wish it was not. We all wish it was not. But it’s a lie. I came from a country where race was not an issue; I did not think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America.”

I can’t imagine what it must be like just to bowl along being one’s normal self, only to find out that there is a whole different ‘you’ when you travel to a another community. As a white person, I am grateful to be able to read and learn about experiences such as these which, with my white privilege, I will never suffer myself. Continue reading →