Raceless by Georgina Lawton

Raceless by Georgina Lawton

A Bustle Most Anticipated Debut of the Year

"Freshly
fascinating. [Lawton] is a particularly astute observer of the psychological
dislocation caused by growing up mixed race... and she writes beautifully about questions of
identity and belonging, so central to each of us in finding our particular
place in the world." -New
York Times Book Review

From The Guardian's
Georgina Lawton, a moving examination of how racial identity is constructed--through
the author's own journey grappling with secrets and stereotypes, having been
raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she looked black.

Raised in sleepy English suburbia, Georgina Lawton was no stranger to
homogeneity. Her parents were white; her friends were white; there was no
reason for her to think she was any different. But over time her brown skin and
dark, kinky hair frequently made her a target of prejudice. In Georgina's
insistently color-blind household, with no acknowledgement of her difference or
access to black culture, she lacked the coordinates to make sense of who she
was.

It
was only after her father's death that Georgina began to unravel the truth
about her parentage--and the racial identity that she had been denied. She fled
from England and the turmoil of her home-life to live in black communities
around the globe--the US, the UK, Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Morocco--and to explore her identity and what it meant to live in
and navigate the world as a black woman. She spoke with psychologists,
sociologists, experts in genetic testing, and other individuals whose
experiences of racial identity have been fraught or questioned in the hopes of
understanding how, exactly, we identify ourselves.

Raceless is
an exploration of a fundamental question: what constitutes our sense of self?
Drawing on her personal experiences and the stories of others, Lawton grapples
with difficult questions about love, shame, grief, and prejudice, and reveals
the nuanced and emotional journey of forming one's identity.

Georgina Lawton is a 27-year-old journalist, speaker, travel writer and former Guardian Weekend columnist. She writes about the intersection of travel and identity, as well as ethical, adventure and solo travel, and has been featured in publications such as The Independent, Ref29, Stylist, Travel + Leisure, VICE, Suitcase, and Time Out London. Her first book Raceless (Sphere), a memoir on family and identity, is released in September 2020. Georgina's love of travel began when she was a child, with holidays across Europe with her family. But at 22, after losing her father, Georgina uncovered more about her black heritage and began travelling on her own, with intention. She travelled to places in which she saw herself reflected (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica) and she travelled to learn more about who she was. Volunteering, immersing herself in Spanish home-stays, embarking upon safaris in South Africa and adventures in the Galapagos Islands, Georgina documented her experiences on her old blog (girlunfurled) and in the mainstream press. Travel for Georgina has always been fun, but it's also been a catalyst for piecing together a personal identity, and healing and restoring herself.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780063009486
ISBN 10	006300948X
Title	Raceless
Author	Georgina Lawton
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Year published	2021-02-23
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.