Written as an exercise book to be completed over 28 days, this book leads readers through prompts which encourage introspection into their own racist biases and actions, and towards the end, help guide the reader towards anti-racist actions and committments. Each day covers a different topic, from unconscious bias and white fragility, to racism against black women and children, to tokenism and white saviourism. 

Instead of a daily practice split into 4 weeks, I split this book into 4 months, giving myself more time to reflect on each day’s reading and complete the journaling. Some days certainly took longer than others and were personally more challenging to address.

I learned a lot about myself and my biases and stereotypes through this book. While I had read about issues like white exceptionalism and fragility, and understood cultural appropriation and systemic racism, being guided in seeing those issues within myself was a valuable, if challenging exercise. The biggest thing I learned about myself is my reliance on silence -- fearing the impacts of calling out or calling in people who say or do racist things, I often say nothing, preserving white people’s comfort (including my own) and, in the case of family and friends, my interpersonal relationships, instead of allying myself with BIPOC to point out the harmful actions. 

The last day of the workbook calls upon the reader to make commitments. Based on how often my white silence showed up in my journaling, I decided to commit to challenge racism by actually using my voice for anti-racism work, by attending events, and calling out/in strangers, acquaintances, friends, family, and leaders. 

I don’t write this so I earn ally cookies, but to encourage more white people to pick up this book and do the work as well. However, I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting point, as the daily readings are very short for people who may be starting out. I’d start by reading at least two of these: White Fragility, Hood Feminism, Inconvenient Indian, Policing Black Lives, or So You Want to Talk about Race. These will give a broader, and deeper foundation to start a path to anti-racism.