Unapologetic and frank. We Deserve to Heal matters because the complex, centuries-old history of relationships among Black women and white women in this country is too often reduced to platitudes and rooted in false, ahistorical notions of unity and sisterhood.

--Deesha Philyaw, author of National Book Award finalist The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

The We Deserve to Heal contributors examine race, ethnicity, gender, and misrepresentation in bold and authentic ways. The details surrounding the perils and (failed) promises explored in these stories are nuanced and interesting. With fascism and separatism threatening how we know and understand one another as human beings, this is a necessary book and conversation.

--DaMaris B. Hill, author of Breath Better Spent: Living Black Girlhood

We Deserve to Heal is a powerful testimony of essays, stitched together like a quilt that offers healing for the soul and spirit. Patrice Gopo's anthology is full of authentic, honest, and vulnerable essays representing diverse perspectives and universal experiences. This book is needed to bridge the gap of sisterhood and community that our world desperately needs.

--Alicia D. Williams, critically acclaimed author of the National Book Award-longlisted Mid-Air

This is the collection I have needed to read and was afraid to imagine. Astonishing in its depth and breadth of authentic feeling, thought, and intellect, this anthology is radical and restorative--like an Audre Lorde poem or an Angela Davis speech. Patrice Gopo convened a truth-telling session. There is bristling clarity, anger, compassion, and love (especially self-love) in these essays. These are the kind of writers you want as friends. They will have your back and hold your hand. Reading this anthology will change your life. Don't be surprised if, in unexpected ways, it sets you free.

--Marita Golden, author of How to Become a Black Writer: Creating and Honoring Black Stories That Matter

First, we acknowledge, then we can heal. These essays are a cry--and in some cases, a demand--for acknowledgment. In doing so, Black and white women can build relationships characterized by shared goals for gender solidarity and racial equity. These essays are so worth reading, and more importantly, discussing.

--Deborah L. Plummer, author of Some of My Friends Are . . .: The Daunting Challenges and Untapped Benefits of Cross-Racial Friendships and founder of Getting to We, Inc.

This book reminds me of many conversations I've had with my sisters and sister-friends. The beauty of putting these stories down and receiving a response in black and white is giving. Gopo hints at a possible second volume. I hope to see it. This book is only the beginning.

--Marcie Alvis Walker, author of Everybody Come Alive: A Memoir in Essays

Whichever side of the friendship you occupy, there is something to relate to here. It contains valuable advice from Black women who have taken on the roles of teacher, counselor, and savior when they just want to share honest friendships. Pay attention if moving forward to understanding is your goal.

--Mary C. Curtis, Roll Call columnist, host of the Equal Time podcast, and award-winning journalist

This book aims to show us the experiences of Black women who have spent their childhoods and their careers in white spaces, such as neighborhoods, friendships, and places of employment. Not every reader will agree with all the views presented in this book; however, after a lifetime of marginalization, these writers are defiantly offering us their views on systemic racism.

--Monic Ductan, author of Daughters of Muscadine: Stories

Award-winning essayist Patrice Gopo has built a literary career around writing words that touch wounds and speak to the hope of healing. Her latest work, We Deserve to Heal: Black Women on the Perils and Promises of Friendship with White Women, brings together 10 Black women across generations to explore whether thriving interracial friendships are possible in a society steeped in racism.

-- "Rolling Out"

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Pub date: 2026-02-24

Length: 184 pages