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Better, Not Bitter: Living on Purpose in the Pursuit of Racial Justice Audiobook
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Named a Best Book of 2021 by NPR
This inspirational memoir serves as a call to action from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam, of the Exonerated Five, to turn our stories into tools for change in the pursuit of racial justice.
They didn't know who they had. So begins Yusef Salaam telling his story. No one's life is the sum of the worst things that happened to them, and during Yusef Salaam's seven years of wrongful incarceration as one of the Central Park Five, he grew from child to man, and gained a spiritual perspective on life. Yusef learned that we're all "born on purpose, with a purpose."
Despite having confronted the racist heart of America while being "run over by the spiked wheels of injustice," Yusef channeled his energy and pain into something positive, not just for himself but for other marginalized people and communities. Better Not Bitter is the first time that one of the now Exonerated Five is telling his individual story, in his own words. Yusef writes about growing up Black in central Harlem in the '80s, being raised by a strong, fierce mother and grandmother, his years of incarceration, his reentry, and exoneration. Yusef connects these stories to lessons and principles he learned that gave him the power to survive through the worst of life's experiences. He inspires readers to accept their own path, and to understand their own sense of purpose.
With his intimate personal insights, Yusef unpacks the systems built and designed for profit and the oppression of Black and Brown people. He inspires readers to channel their fury into action, and through the spiritual, to turn that anger and trauma into a constructive force that lives alongside accountability and mobilizes change.
Yusef Salaam's message is vital for our times. Better, Not Bitter has the power to soothe, inspire and transform. It is a galvanizing call to action.
"Salaam's compelling memoir is one of astounding warmth ... This book should be read by anyone who wants to hear the story of the Exonerated Five directly from one of its members.” ―NPR
"An important memoir and call to action that sheds light on the personal injustices of mass incarceration." ―Library Journal
“Warm, generous, and inspirational: a book for everyone.” ―Kirkus Reviews
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About Yusef Salaam
Dr. Yusef Salaam was just fifteen years old when his life was upended after being wrongly convicted in the “Central Park jogger” case, along with four other boys who are now known as the Exonerated Five. In 2002, after the young men spent between seven and thirteen years of their lives behind bars, their sentences were overturned, and they were fully exonerated. Their story has been documented in the award-winning film The Central Park Five by documentarians Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon and in Ava DuVernay’s highly acclaimed series When They See Us, one of Netflix’s most-watched original series of all time. Yusef is now a poet, activist, and inspirational speaker who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama, among other honors. You can find him online at www.yusefspeaks.com.