"a family wealth" by Thomas Brooks: Book Review

a family wealth

by Thomas Brooks

Alpha Multimedia, Inc. (2006)

ISBN 0977462935

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/06)

“A Wealth of Family” has something to be enjoyed or learned by people from all walks of life, regardless of gender, socioeconomic background, or culture. This is a fantastic book. It focuses on Brooks’s upbringing as an adopted black man who wanted to find his roots. It was difficult for me to write this review because I was touched by his story in so many ways, it was difficult for me to narrow down which area I enjoyed the most or which part of his life experiences taught me the most. Despite our differences (gender, race, education) I learned a lot about myself while reading. I admire your ability to see the positive learning experiences that come from experiencing negative situations.

Brooks was raised by a very protective divorced black woman. They had to struggle financially. She had a close extended family in her life and a wonderful male role model. In her youth, she knew that he was adopted. Her biological mother was a white woman and her father was an African from Kenya. Brooks developed an interest in finding her biological family in order to learn about her roots.

Throughout his upbringing, Brooks had to deal with racism and poverty. He experienced racism from his friends and teachers. He attended a predominantly white school. Some of his friends made racist comments based on ignorance without realizing that his beliefs were wrong. Brooks wants revenge by excelling in academics and athletics. He later had to deal with black-on-black bias when his black peers told him he was “acting white.”

Brooks was the first in his family to attend college. This was a completely new learning experience for him. He had to deal with the paradox of trying to show everyone that blacks can excel at everything and then being accused of being boastful and arrogant when he would succeed.

After Brooks completed his education, he was contacted by his biological mother. Through her, he is able to meet her siblings in England and contact his father’s family in Kenya. After a lot of effort, he is able to meet his biological father and his extended family in Kenya. Brooks can connect his adoptive family, his English family, and his African family. He now he really knows his roots.

What I really enjoyed about this book is that the story didn’t end when he met his mother. It goes on to show us how much her life was enriched by being able to combine her family from her different cultures.

I highly recommend this book for use in African American Studies classes and Cultural Counseling classes. I think it would be great to be read in underprivileged youth areas. Brooks demonstrated that he could overcome all the difficulties in his life and is actively involved in making a difference in the lives of others.

Brooks writes about how slavery has stripped African Americans of their history and culture. This often leads them to think that they are inferior. Because of his experiences, he developed a perspective of himself as a “citizen of the world, not limited by race, religion, nationality, or political ideology.” If everyone could develop this vision of themselves, racism would end and we would have world peace.