“Eloquent and riveting, Boyd’s collection delivers not only, as she promises in her introduction, ‘a long exhalation, a silent prayer, a solace and a comfort’ but also, in the words of Imani Perry, a celebration of Blackness as ‘an immense and defiant joy.’ This one’s not to be missed.”

“A map of ancestral knowledge, revelatory insight, and feelings laid bare . . . These pages share poems of hope, narratives of loss, anger, fear, loneliness, togetherness, death, and most potently, life, to paint a portrait . . . resonant to all.”

“A brilliant chronicle of the Black experience in the age of Covid-19 . . . Valerie Boyd’s Bigger Than Bravery isn’t just an anthology; it is a survival guide. As the country slowly finds itself returning to normal life, the authors’ reflections on Black resilience and reclamation not only have the power to heal but provide hope and a road map for a brighter, more inclusive future.”  

“Heart-wrenching, funny, and outrageously human, these pieces help us reflect on a dark period of a global pandemic and the shifting meanings of normalcy.”  

“In this anthology, Black writers explore the courage, the fear, and all the mottled emotions in between that ruled us during the most uncertain days of the pandemic. Their powerful essays and poems take the breath away, then help us to breathe again.”  

“After a year in which the longstanding inequities faced by Black people and communities were laid starkly bare, these pieces offer resistance and political commentary, yes. But they also—in prose and poetry that is thought-provoking, moving, and wise—delve into deeply personal stories of longing and solitude, the pleasures of food and friendship, family histories, and the meaning of home. ‘Resilience’ is an overused and sometimes overvalued concept, and yet that’s exactly what kept coming to mind as I read this fine collection: the writers’ steadfast insistence not just on surviving, but thriving, on wresting joy from a time of crisis and loss.”

 “Bigger Than Bravery demonstrates the power of words to help heal what ails us. The timely collection provides the balm of comfort and joy we all need to overcome this peril, however long it takes.”