Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope
Description
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.
Praise for Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope
"This soul-soothing memoir from one-fifth of the Fab Five (and staunch advocate for LGBTQ mental health awareness) is also a deeply profound rumination on the relationship between one's culture—including what that even means—and one's self-perception.”
— OprahMag.com
"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
“Queer Eye's cultural expert Karamo Brown tells his life story — and gives fans a delicious behind-the-scenes look at the taping of the feel-good Netflix series — in his new memoir.”
— Bustle
“Truly, truly fascinating.”
— Trevor Noah on The Daily Show
"Brown is candid and warm in all the ways his fans will expect. He relates a childhood filled with both love and trauma, his journey through anger problems and addiction, the stops and starts in creating a career that fit, and his unexpected path to fatherhood. Even his story's happy ending, a hit show and an upcoming wedding, is addressed with introspection. Brown states his passion for helping others find the language to communicate their emotions; readers will appreciate his openheartedness in sharing his own.”
— Booklist
"A powerful story of a young, gay black man’s fight to gain self-empowerment and healing."
— Publishers Weekly
"Fans will flock to this sincere memoir and its thoughtful advice."
— Library Journal
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