When Michaela Coel, Emmy and Bafta winning creator/actress, also one of my most favourites; writes a book, you know it’s going to be real and cerebral. This book was inspired from Coel’s prestigious 2018 MacTaggart Lecture, a high-profile address given yearly by a keynote speaker at the Edinburgh Television Festival. Through the book, Michaela lays bare her deepest truths, fears, insecurities and idiosyncrasies.
From growing up in a poor family and as a black woman, in East London; to navigating racial slurs at drama school and not being taken seriously enough in the television industry despite two hit shows, Chewing Gum (Netflix) and I May Destroy You (BBC/HBO); Michaela describes her unconventional journey in a very poignant and purposeful narrative. She also talks about her sexual assault, which later prompted her to make the ingenious and hard hitting show, I May Destroy You, centring it on the issues of thefts of consent and rape.
Michaela refers to herself as a misfit and champions for all the misfits like her in the book. In this sensational agenda setting debut, she makes a compelling case for radical honesty and greater transparency. She believes that we as a world, need to be inclusive and respectful of every other human. She stresses on the fact that we need to constantly reflect on our thoughts, actions and words; for the betterment of humanity at large.
“ I’ve decided to embrace as many perspectives as I can, and be brave enough to update my beliefs, and discover I’m not always right. What a brilliant thing, to discover we’ve been wrong about some things, what a brilliant thing it is to grow”.
A brilliant and humbling read indeed!
~ JUST A GAY BOY. 🙌
the shiny diaries 