One of my best friends, Cata, recommended this book to me and asked that I read it so we could discuss it the next time we saw each other in person. I wasn’t ready for the rollercoaster of emotions that awaited me.
The love story
Grace aka Porter aka Honey Girl is a woman with a plan. Ever since she told her dad that she wasn’t going to be a MD and was choosing to pursue a PhD in Astronomy, she set out to prove herself to her dad, Colonel. She basically product-managed her academic career + life and created a roadmap that she followed to accomplish specific goals by a specific time. SO imagine what she felt when she woke up the day after her birthday bash in Vegas (yes, cliche af) and realized she had married a kind-eyed woman who she had brief memories of (cuz HELLO SHE MET HER IN VEGAS ON THE DAY OF HER BDAY BASH #TotesNotPartOfHerPlan). I won’t give any spoilers because I want you to go and grab this book and fall in love with Grace and her boo, Yuki, and their love.
Grace Porter, the Black Woman in Astronomy (aka STEM)
I was not prepared for the feelings that this part of the story gave me. Rogers does such a great job of encompassing the experience of BIPOC in STEM – ranging from the well-meaning mentor to navigating the job hunt to the racist encounters in the workplace. If you are a BIPOC who is in STEM and has navigated any of those issues, this book will slap you in the face with emotions – legitimately will have you wanting to hug Grace and tell her it will eventually work itself out.
I read this book as I was navigating Unemployment. I think I was month 5 or 6(?) into unemployment and was still healing from my past job experience so you can imagine what feelings this book evoked for me. As a Queer Latina in tech, the situations that Rogers detailed in her book were experiences that you could copy/paste from my career – which might make me biased about how much i liked the book LOL. Either way, there is a lesson to be learned from the story and the perseverance that Grace showed that leaves you feeling hope for her success. I appreciated that Rogers did not shy away from Grace needing to take a break / “run” from her life and prioritize her own self-care and healing – genuinely felt like that was the strongest part of the story.
tl;dr: 10/10 recommend for the love story and LIFE LESSON – REST AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD WHEN YOU ARE READY BUT ALSO LIFE MIGHT FORCE YOU IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION THAN YOU ENVISIONED FOR YOURSELF AND THAT’S OK.
As always, comment below if you’d like to discuss this book! 🙂