Book Review | Pleasure Activism written & Gathered by adrienne maree Brown

This book right here rocked my whole life and shook me to my core.

My WHOLE. ENTIRE. CORE.

Where do I even begin?

I have seen this book title for so long. I have a dear friend who has it in her little library. I have heard of adrienne maree brown for a few years, but this book never called out to me.

In the beginning of February, I was SKRUGGLING (how I felt is how you read it). I was having a difficult time being happy. I was having a difficult time focusing. Even though therapy was helping, I was very much so bogged down. I think one day, the title popped up in my head and I said, “Shit, I do want to feel pleasure; I do want to feel good.”

I ordered ‘Pleasure Activism’ right then and there. I began reading the book maybe a few days after it was delivered.

In the introduction alone, I was shook. I felt like adrienne knew me, maybe we were the same person (in different bodies and experiences). I knew she was talking to me and she wrote this introduction for me. I was convinced because I highlighted A LOT. Pleasure in the context of self, life, sex, partnerships, non-monagamy, drugs….yeah, adrienne was literally speaking my language. I love talking about taboo things, but honestly, I haven’t been able to talk about them as much as I would like to.

[You see I am a naturally curious and inquisitive being. I love learning and finding out new things, but I have come to learn that many people see questioning and curiosity as a threat, especially a threat to order. I don’t call myself a divine disruptor for nothing! I see curiosity as a means to expand and a means to express freedom. Those who don’t want you to ask questions are often hiding a/the truth from you. That’s my truth, at least.]

I am babbling, but I need you to understand how important this book is to me.

From the get go, I started questioning myself, “Well, what is pleasure? What is pleasurable to you? What in your life is pleasurable? How can you invite more pleasure in?”

I LOVE books like this that put a direct, yet gentle mirror right up close to my face and make me introspect and reflect DEEPLY.

This book is a mix between adrienne’s own writings, both new and reused, plus conversations and words of other people. I love how each entry is completely different from the one before or after it and at the same time, it all blends well…like a good stew.

Something that captivated me was how I was able to see pleasure from a plethora of different angles. It was like being able to look pleasure’s nooks and crannies; all the parts that our society doesn’t want to look at.

Reading ‘Pleasure Activism’ really made me believe that no pleasure was off limits (as long as you are not harming yourself or others). This book helped me to see all of the different forms and shapes that pleasures could take up.

This book sparked many conversations between my husband and I as well as my closest friends. These were no easy breezy conversations. They were emotional, full of depth, and often times a bit difficult to express with words, but I feel like it brought us all closer.

Reading ‘Pleasure Activism’ truly made me want to live every bit of my life in pleasure, well, at least as much as my life as I could in pleasure. Audre Lorde had planted the seed in me a couple of years ago with Uses of the Erotic (which is included in Pleasure Activism) and the Pleasure Activism eloquently expanded my understanding of pleasure while growing that same seed.

My pleasure as a Black, queer, woman is truly activism in a world that was not designed for me to live, let alone live fully or thrive. My pleasure is resistance. My pleasure is my birthright. This book reminded me to demand pleasure in as many areas of my life as I can get it, whether big or small.

Have you read Pleasure Activism? What are your thoughts and/or opinions on pleasure in general? Have you ever centered your life around pleasure?