My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies

Review by

Voncille Wratee

You may have heard that someone was told that he or she acts just like a family member who may have been one or two generations before this person’s time. This person may have the same personality or mannerisms as the family member who came before them. That is because we carry memory in our blood and DNA. Resmaa Menakem highlights how racial trauma is passed from generation to generation and the affects are apparent with black and white people and police officers. He offers community healing exercises for each group individually and collectively. The author has theoretical and practical pathways for shifting the memory in the blood and DNA. This book may trigger some deeply rooted emotions in the beginning but will move the reader towards a view that will allow for some deep breaths to shift those feelings. The book can be referred to often for continued group healing.