“Once upon a time/Before time could be counted/ Soft words

were spoken/ Then a song was sung/ And a seed hearing those

sounds followed them out/ To become a part of the newness/

To become a part of this warmth/To become . . . to become

/To become a journey into/ Girlhood/ Menah Pratt follows/

That sound to/ That warmth to/ That possibility/ and invites

us to travel/With her.”  —Nikki Giovanni, poet

“If there is one book every Black woman needs to read in her

life, it’s Blackwildgirl. Pratt invites us to find ourselves and our

inherent power as she found hers. She shows how her journey

from childhood to adulthood is also our journey and other

women’s journeys, from bearing the world to being the world.”

—Readers’ Favorite, 5 Star Review

“Menah Pratt has written a book that offers the chance to be

empowered, to be educated, to be healed, to be liberated. Be

ready to cry, to laugh, to mourn, and to celebrate. Most of

all, be ready to have your eyes, heart, and mind opened.”

—Naomi Tutu, ordained minister and daughter of Bishop Tutu

“Blackwildgirl encourages all of us to reclaim our superpowers

and be change-agents in life.”

—Katrina M. Adams, author of Own the Arena and former

CEO of United States Tennis Association

“Part spell-binding memoir and part luminous teaching, this

book shattered my complacency and opened my heart. Sensual

and smart, dignified and vulnerable, Menah Pratt manages to

simultaneously deconstruct white supremacy and celebrate the

Divine Feminine as Black Woman. I haven’t been this excited

by an emerging voice in a long time. Blackwildgirl ought to

be required reading for anyone longing to reclaim their own

deepest, fullest humanity.”

—Mirabai Starr, author of Wild Mercy and God of Love

“Blackwildgirl starts like a strike of thunder a few hundred

miles away, like a storm catching up to you. I was left gasping

for air on several occasions. And at the same time, I felt

enveloped with a warm hug. Once I got started, I could not

stop. Be prepared to be moved!”

—Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, author of For Brown

Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts

“A gift to ‘wild women’ everywhere, Menah Pratt’s Blackwild-

girl makes an important contribution to the evolving field of

Black Girlhood Studies, as well as Women’s Studies, Black

Studies, and Womanist Theology.”

—Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of the Women’s

Research & Resource Center, Anna Julia Cooper Professor,

Spelman College, author of Words of Fire: An Anthology

of African American Feminist Thought

“Blackwildgirl is a love letter to Black feminism and Blackwild-

girls across the diaspora. A truly satisfying read, Blackwildgirl

will leave readers breathless, while simultaneously providing

space for critical reflection. This is one memoir you will want

to read time and time again.”

—Letisha Engracia Cardoso Brown, Assistant Professor,

University of Cincinnati

“Menah Pratt sets new precedents in her writing of Blackwild-

girl. All would benefit from reading this almost sacred and

critical text. She reminds us of Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou,

and Oprah Winfrey. Her visionary and spiritual voice meld

into one, going from a Moonlight Sonata to hip-hop and the

Psalms. In her feminist hands the act of crying becomes an

act of transparency and empowerment; it rises to healing and

refurbishing the spirit on the table of our consciousness, not

in the closet.”

—Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, Professor, Seattle Univer-

sity, author of 8 books of poetry

“Every now and again a poet comes along and allows her reader

a peak beyond the veil. Blackwildgirl takes us on a journey

across time and geographies through the eyes of a determined

spirit. The book is in conversation with every precarious

daughter who dared to live free. Pratt boldly, yet delicately,

reveals the warrior spirit within!”

—Venus E. Evans-Winters, author of Black Feminism in

Qualitative Inquiry: A Mosaic for Writing Our Daughter’s Body

“Blackwildgirl breathes life into the bones of Black women

and girls everywhere.”

—Renata Ferdinand, Chair and Full Professor, New

York City College of Technology (CUNY), author of An

Autoethnography of African American Motherhood: Things

I Tell My Daughter

“Blackwildgirl is a valuable resource for parents, daughters,

women, husbands, partners, and lovers of women, as it sheds

light on the challenges faced and the strength required to

embrace one’s true self and stand as a warrior in the world.”

—Sharon Tettegah, Director, Center for Black Studies

Research, Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara

“Blackwildgirl takes its readers on a mythic, iconic, revelatory

journey, opening the pathway for other would-be wildwomen

and their allies to step up, speak up, and stand up. This

poignant, multi-layered, mixed genre story is a must read for

those interested in what it means to be a father, a mother, a

daughter, a professional, a human being.”

—Valerie Lee, author of Sisterlocking Discoarse: Race,

Gender, And The Twenty-First-Century Academy

“Dedicated to wildgirls and wildwomen, Blackwildgirl is essential

reading for anyone who wants to live in the fullness of creativity,

wisdom, and joy.”

—Corinne Field, Associate Professor, University of Virginia,

co-editor of The Global History of Black Girlhood

“The breadth and depth of Menah Pratt’s soul journey to

uncover Blackwildgirl and Blackwildwoman is not just

inspirational, but the most unselfish revolutionary act I have

experienced in book form maybe ever!

—Gina L. Carroll, author of The Grandest Garden

“A must-read for those committed to Black girls’ and women’s

non-negotiable liberation and for Black women journeying

to reclaim their wildness and freedom.”

—Dominique C. Hill, Assistant Professor, Colgate University

“This Black feminist/womanist gift will no doubt have a profound

impact on the lives of all the Black women who engage this love

offering: a wake and an awakening, a sunrise and a libation.”

—Andrea N. Baldwin, Associate Professor, University of

Utah, and author of A Decolonial Black Feminist Theory

of Reading and Shade: Feeling the University

“This work is a beautiful and perfect mirror for young girls

and women, especially those from diverse backgrounds, as

they explore their own positionality in becoming bold and

powerful humans in our rapidly transforming society.”

—Johanna B. Maes, Faculty, University of Colorado Boulder

“Truly a triumph of the spirit!”

—Antonia Darder, author of A Dissident Voice: Essays on

Culture, Pedagogy & Power

“Blackwildgirl creates new entry points to hear, see, and love

on Black girls.”

—Corey J. Miles, author of Vibe: The Sound and Feeling

of Black Life in the American South

“Blackwildgirl is a vivid example of what Maya Angelou describes

in her poem, Still I Rise.”

—V. Jean Ramsey, Retired Professor, Texas Southern University,

co-author of Teaching Diversity