Name: Sahi K's review of Karamo by Karamo Brown
Item: Karamo
Rating: 4
Author: Sahi K

Karamo Brown

An insightful, candid, and inspiring memoir from Karamo Brown—Queer Eye’s beloved culture expert—as he shares his story for the first time, exploring how the challenges in his own life have allowed him to forever transform the lives of those in need. When Karamo Brown first auditioned for the casting directors of Netflix’s Queer Eye, he knew he wouldn’t win the role of culture expert by discussing art and theater. Instead he decided to redefine what “culture” could—and should—mean for the show. He took a risk and declared, “I am culture.” Karamo believes that culture is so much more than art museums and the ballet—it’s how people feel about themselves and others, how they relate to the world around them, and how their shared labels, burdens, and experiences affect their daily lives in ways both subtle and profound. Seen through this lens, Karamo is culture: his family is Jamaican and Cuban; he was raised in the South in predominantly white neighborhoods and attended an HBCU (Historically Black College/University); he was trained as a social worker and psychotherapist; he overcame personal issues of colorism, physical and emotional abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, and public infamy; he is a proud and dedicated gay single father of two boys, one biological and one adopted. It is by discussing deep subjects like these, he feels, that the makeovers on the show can attain their full, lasting meaning. Styling your hair and getting new clothes and furniture are important, but it’s imperative that you figure out why you haven’t done so in twenty years so you can truly change your life. In this eye-opening and moving memoir, Karamo reflects on his lifelong education. It comprises every adversity he has overcome, as well as the lessons he has learned along the way. It is only by exploring our difficulties and having the hard conversations—with ourselves and one another—that we are able to adjust our mind-sets, heal emotionally, and move forward to live our best lives. Karamo shows us the way.

My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope

Karamo

Yvette

Sahi K

TW: domestic abuse, addiction, depression, suicide

I loved reading Tan’s memoir Naturally Tan just a couple of weeks ago but I had completely forgotten that Karamo’s memoir was already out until I saw his interview with Trevor Noah. And I think I did the perfect thing deciding to listen to the audiobook because this was a wonderful experience. 

As the title suggests, this book is Karamo’s story of personal growth, healing and hope. It’s not told in a clearly chronological manner but each chapter deals with a different topic/issue that he has had to deal with in his life and his experiences overcoming them while growing up. In line with his personality and messaging on Queer Eye, he is very honest and open about many things that happened in his past, the mistakes that he made and how he challenged himself to become a better version of himself. He is candid about many different topics - feeling othered, colorism within the Black community, his relationship with the church and God, his struggle with addiction and depression, domestic partner abuse, fatherhood and finding his path in life. I was actually very surprised by how much detail he went into, especially about his addiction, suicidal thoughts and his abusive behavior towards his partners, but I think the way he learnt from his mistakes and decided to change himself is a good lesson for everyone struggling with similar issues. 

His chapter on fatherhood is probably the most profound one in the book. It’s probably unimaginable to understand what he must have felt when he suddenly found out he had a child, but the way he handled it with an open mind and lots of love is wonderful to read. It’s also possibly the most transformative moment in his life because he decided to model a better behavior for his children so that they had a better role model in their father than he himself did. His emphasis on being a loving but disciplined parent and encouraging his kid’s dreams without judging them is definitely something all parents can agree with or atleast aspire to be like. His chapter on his relationship with his fiancé is quite lovely and adorable and I can’t wait to see what a spectacle his wedding is going to be.

On the show, he obviously is famous for being the one who makes everyone cry and this book gives us a better insight into why that is and where he is coming from. Despite his struggles, he has never lost hope and optimism and I think his social worker and psychotherapist background plays a major part in that. And even though he can come across as preachy sometime, his messages are quite relevant to everyone. His emphasis on being an empathetic listener and being open to learn is something that we can all benefit from. On the other hand, the way he talks about himself is also a great message. I love how he doesn’t hesitate from talking about his dreams and aspirations and how confident he is that he will be able to find a way to make them a reality. But the one take away that I took from this book is how important it is to be able to express and understand our feelings and emotions, and how not having the right vocabulary to do so can affect our mental health. 

Finally, I obviously recommend this book to anyone who loves Queer Eye and wants to know more about Karamo. Do keep in mind that this is a book about his life experiences and the show forms just one chapter in it. This is a book about healing, learning, being a better person and following the dreams and I’m sure everyone will find something in here to relate to or learn from. I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it because it phenomenal and he brings a lot of heart and soul into the narration.

Diana Platgalve

There has been a sudden increase in the bookstores for people trying to monetize their own story, this book is no exception, and I cannot say that it is something necessarily bad, however, I am not very convinced by this execution. 
This particular book tries to uncover suffering as a way for growth, mostly favouring positive psychology. His story is not something usual, but it always depends on the angles. 
Karamo is opening up about his hardships related with his name, colorism, church and being gay, several addictions, and his journey to fulfilled life. During the pages, he admitted his past flaws and his (oversimplified) way of overcoming them. He invites the reader to have these hard conversations with oneself and those around. Even tho a lot of the facts he uncovered about his life is something most of us would keep forever secret and just for us, it did not feel as a Raw look at himself (for example, about suicide attempt). The events that happened to him are important, but I somehow lacked his emotional journey.
Taking away my personal issue with authors trying to present themselves in a specific light in memoirs, I think Karamo was able to touch some sensitive subjects within the current world, especially of suffering within LGBTQ+ community, domestic abuse, religious hatred and racism (especially within ones race). Sharing your own experience when trying to educated others can be empowering, but all of these issues are so complex that talking about them so simply can be a missed shot, but it is a START. 
Even tho Karamo tried to include others in the book, it was mostly about himself. But I think wide variety of people will be able to relate to some parts of his journey. I would not call this writing as a cathartic self-analysis, rather an acknowledgement of situations that drove him on a destruction road.
You only get a slight notion of his anxieties, and part of the book seems to be a self-promotion. I am only partially convinced that he achieved the title of offering a story of how exactly he embraced purpose, healing, and hope. And because he tried to achieve this and touched upon heavy societal subjects, plus did self-endorsement, somehow made it all sloppy.

Ashley Moncayo

Listening to Karamo just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. His story was incredible, and his message of love needs to be heard by everyone ♥

An insightful, inspiring, “candid and warm” (Booklist) memoir from Karamo Brown—beloved culture expert from Netflix’s Queer Eye—as he shares his story for the first time, exploring how the challenges in his own life have allowed him to forever transform the lives of those in need. When Karamo Brown first auditioned for the casting directors of Queer Eye, he knew he wouldn’t win the role of culture expert by discussing art and theater. Instead he decided to redefine what “culture” could—and should—mean for the show. He took a risk and declared, “I am culture.” After all, Karamo believes culture is how people feel about themselves and others, how they relate to the world around them, and how their shared labels, burdens, and experiences affect their daily lives in ways both subtle and profound. Seen through this lens, Karamo is culture: his family is Jamaican and Cuban; he was raised in the South in predominantly white neighborhoods and attended an HBCU (Historically Black College/University); he was trained as a social worker and psychotherapist; he overcame personal issues of colorism, physical and emotional abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, and public infamy; he is a proud and dedicated gay single father of two boys, one biological and one adopted. In “this soul-soothing memoir” (O, The Oprah Magazine), Karamo reflects on his lifelong education. It comprises every adversity he has overcome, as well as the lessons he has learned along the way. It is only by exploring our difficulties and having the hard conversations—with ourselves and one another—that we are able to adjust our mind-sets, heal emotionally, and move forward to live our best lives. “During every episode of Queer Eye, there’s at least one touching moment where Karamo Brown drops some serious wisdom about self-love and makes everybody cry. His moving memoir about overcoming adversity captures that feeling in book form” (HelloGiggles).

Abi Baker

oh boy
so many red flags

1. so, karamo has been emotionally and physically abusive in the past with boyfriends which he explains away by saying that his dad was abusive towards his mom. then he decided to stop being abusive when one of his boyfriends left his and after three months of anger management he no longer physically abused his partners. now though, it he tells cute anecdotes about how he tells his fiance what to wear because 'he knows more about fashion'....hmm
2. he was a drug user who judged other drug users and thought he was better than other addicts
3. he has a bit of a saviour complex

people are giving this high ratings presumably because he is being frank about his mistakes and has bettered himself but the way he's talking about his experiences sometimes makes him come across as a little self-righteous. people don't have to be perfect but i just have a real hard time thinking kindly of abusers. i hope he has changed and anyone he has harmed is living a peaceful and fulfilled life.

elsewhere, this book could've done with a bit more editing. karamo was constantly jumping back and forth between adulthood and childhood, jumping back and forth between different themes and experiences and repeating sections of the book he had already covered. it just felt a bit jumbled and disordered.

Chelsea Breher

I listened to an audio version of this book read by Karamo himself, it honestly felt like Karamo was sitting across from me telling me his story. Like I was having coffee with a friend. It held my attention from begining to end, it was honest and raw. I loved it.

Michelle Marlow

I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book. But I really did. The things he has overcome is amazing.

Emily Burns

Courtney

An insightful, candid, and inspiring memoir from Karamo Brown - Queer Eye's beloved culture expert - as he shares his story for the first time, exploring how the challenges in his own life have allowed him to forever transform the lives of those in need. When Karamo Brown first auditioned for the casting directors of Netflix's Queer Eye, he knew he wouldn't win the role of culture expert by discussing art and theatre. Instead he decided to redefine what "culture" could--and should--mean for the show. He took a risk and declared, "I am culture." Karamo believes that culture is so much more than art museums and the ballet - it's how people feel about themselves and others, how they relate to the world around them, and how their shared labels, burdens, and experiences affect their daily lives in ways both subtle and profound. Seen through this lens, Karamo is culture: his family is Jamaican and Cuban; he was raised in the American South in predominantly white neighbourhoods and attended an HBCU (Historically Black College/University); he was trained as a social worker and psychotherapist; he overcame personal issues of colourism, physical and emotional abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, and public infamy; he is a proud and dedicated gay single father of two boys, one biological and the other adopted. It is by discussing deep subjects like these, he feels, that the makeovers on the show can attain their full, lasting meaning. Styling your hair and getting new clothes and furniture are important, but it's also important that you work out why you haven't done so in twenty years - doing that can truly change your life. In this eye-opening and moving memoir, Karamo reflects on his lifelong education. It comprises every adversity he has overcome, as well as the lessons he has learned along the way. It is only by exploring our difficulties and having the hard conversations - with ourselves and one another - that we are able to adjust our mindsets, heal emotionally, and move forward to live our best lives. Karamo shows us the way.

Yvette &
Karamo by Karamo Brown

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