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“This all feels so complicated. If I harbored any delusion that solutions would become readily apparent, today's conversation nailed that coffin securely shut. I stare into the eyes of a woman in an ancient portrait hanging on the wall. Her high collar appears to choke her, which may explain the stern expression on her face. Her eyes bore back into mine. 'Who are you?' I whisper. 'What was it with you people?'” — Inheriting the Trade Inheriting the Trade is now available for pre-order through Beacon Press, Brilliance Audio, Amazon, and other retailers. To order a copy, please click here. To join our mailing list, click here. |
Reader Reactions |
The following are excerpts of comments received by Tom DeWolf: “[Inheriting the Trade] is really good. Not because it solves anything, but because it gives us a glimpse of the enormity of the mess we're in and a sense we need to learn to live in the discomfort of it together.”
“I thought [Inheriting the Trade] was wonderful from the very beginning… Then the last parts blew me away… It is really a tale of transformation, though from the very beginning you were open to self-reflection in a way that was very unusual. Thank you very much for your self and your extraordinary book.”
“You stated the current government of the US should apologize for the slave trade, yet you personally disqualify yourself as not being alive when it took place.....nice loophole.... Why should any current US government official, who was also NOT around during the slave trade apologize? You Jackass!!”
“You have written something rare and fine. You have written truth.”
“Words fall short of how I feel right now, you have captured something remarkable.”
“[Tom DeWolf] spoke to how the hierarchy was established, not in an intellectual kind of way, but in a very real, tangible way for me and exploded it. While listening to him, I finally felt seen for the first time. I don't know if that makes any sense. Hearing a white person open up about the dealings of his ancestors and accept responsibility, in part, for the state of race relations in the U.S. overwhelmed me. I hadn't realized how much baggage I carried because of that and the true extent of how racism has affected me and continues to affect me.”
“If the DeWolf family was worried about their good family name being sullied, they can rest easy. This book is unreadable.”
“This book covers issues that most whites prefer to avoid, and it does so in a cogent, readable, and revealing way. I loved how it got me thinking, and opened my eyes in a non-threatening but persistent way to how different kinds of isms -- racism, classism, sexism -- pervade our lives.”
“I just watched Tom Dewolf on C-Span and he may have freed me from a great deal of bitterness. On the question of slavery and its aftermath, I had grown to think all white people were shameless on this subject. Dewolf has left me with hope that there may be a few whites who see the errors of their ancestors. More than that, I can concentrate on how my bitterness and frustration also add to the problem.”
“I came away most impressed by [Inheriting the Trade’s] spiritual content, particularly by the gradual development of the conclusion that had the most impact on me - that if we remember our ancestry and history with pride, we must remember the shame as well. I can't stop talking about it, and I'm drowning my book club with pleas to have us read it.”
“I got your book and managed to read it within the first week. Thank you so very much for writing such an important book and writing it so well. It was uncomfortable, messy, honest, painful, beautiful, troubling and hopeful. It was so moving to me. You wrote so well, so openly, so deeply, so personally, so boldly.”
“I was very fortunate to just catch your presentation about your book and journey on C-Span. Thank you for your excellent work and perspective and observations on racism and the slave trade. We are definitely better off than we were thirty years ago but we still have a long way to go.”
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