What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker Summary
Damon Young

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker Overview

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker, by Damon Young, is subtitled “A Memoir in Essays.” The book offers Young’s contemplations on a range of issues associated with being a black man in early 21st Century America, blending personal narrative with a serio-comic sensibility and broader cultural perspectives to create a complex tapestry of meaning and commentary. In doing so, Young considers several themes, offering his perspectives on the experience of “living while black,” on appearance versus reality in both black and white America, and the importance of language.