Growing Up X

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: As a student of the Malcolm X school of thought, I have often wondered what it would be like to have met Malcolm the private friend, husband and father. Growing Up X provides a brief, but insightful look at Malcolm, the family man whose intense love captured and sustained his beloved wife Betty for more than three decades after his death. Malcolm's omnipresence in the lives of his wife and daughters was a deliberate plan of Dr. Shabazz who once told her daughter, "I had DE best man." It is of this "best man" and his inspirational legacy that Ilyasah gives a glimpse. In line with her father's teachings, she motivates and inspires us to be our best. Ilyasah stands fully poised to inherit the legacies of her parents and to carry on the baton of human rights and justice. This very thoughtful and warm book engrossed me from beginning to end and I eagerly look forward to reading her upcoming book that will provide a deeper look at her parent's life.

Rating:
Summary: An Xcellent view from where she sat!
Review: Growing Up X ............................................................ Ilyasah Shabazz

Ilyasah Shabazz's life and legacy of her famous father Malcolm X, and the untimely death of her mother, Betty has been well documented in the media and beyond. Embarking on her first book tour great pains has been initiated and exerted to serve notice that the book, Growing Up X is a personal memoir, and not about Malcolm or her mother. The book rather, is an easy read, which flows with reflections on the burdens and confusing circumstances that often befall the children of famous people. Usually a normal life is all that's wanted, and in this case the author tries to give credence to such an upbringing. Fittingly to the aforementioned, she directs the book toward the exemplary job her mother adhered to in raising six daughters after being ostracized by a community (Mt. Vernon, NY) devoid of compassion and ignorant of facts. The effect of this and other maladies associated with being in the shadow of history's long arm brings this memoir close to the author's heart. Throughout, she shares her personal belief how her father was misunderstood in America, and that this misunderstanding made it difficult to lessen preconceived ill seated notions about the Nation Of Islam, its intent, and the impact it had on Malcolm's philosophical profile.
In giving her personal thoughts one would want to get the feeling that she felt readily felt the anguish associated with betrayal at the hands of those so close to him. and knew first hand the pain he must have felt. In doing so, she evidenced these analogies by describing his driving commitment and his tremendous need to be a beacon for a better life for his people. Inasmuch as she tries to downplay the larger than life presence of his persona, she valiantly gets a passing mark for realizing that her father's bailiwick was inescapable. The fact that the author gave us her own voice and vision dealing with growing pains says a lot here. And this is a view seldom seen in the windows of such a celebrated family.

What additional insights are allowed those on the outside looking in to be able to see a different perspective? To answer this question, Ilyasah Shabazz draws upon the one thing that make this book not only an enjoyable read, but one that exude compassion and respect growing up in a maternal-dominated household where the teachings of an icon wasn't forgotten. To help this along, the warmth and reminiscences of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances give weight to their personal involvement and experiences in supporting them through the months following her father's death. Because who Malcolm and Betty were, this book has all the rudiments of an unfinished story, which begs to be told comprehensively in a way for the picture to offer insights never told before...but also in ways to report the familial relationship between her parents. Perhaps this would be more fact than fiction, as the author has intimated working on such an offering. Not to take anything from the author, the real legacy that she and other members of the family has to continue upholding is sustaining family values, persevering beyond media scrutiny, and visualizing a unified purpose. Listening to Ilyasah's bent on it, she's not far from my assessment.

She states: "My mission now is to preserve the legacy of my parents, and to help nurture my nephews, nieces, and my sisters to be loving as possible as we can to continue our parents' work". For those who'd want to measure the psychological and societal ramifications of their burdens, read this book and feel the awe as I did seeing things from the author's perspective growing up indeed, Xcellent!

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: GROWING UP X
In reading the entertaining, exciting and painful narrative of Ilyasah Shabazz's coming of age, I could not help but admire the author's gift of insight into the extraordinary lives of Betty Shabazz and her precocious girls who grew up privileged, yet beneath the shadow of sorrow and a painful history. The author, speaking of incidents that occurred when she was two years old, admits: "I write all this as though I remember, which I do not"...(about) "that terrible, terrible day, I have learned from the Autobiography, from other written sources and from the painful recollections of friends." - Yet she weaves the eye witness accounts of persons such as Percy Sutton, Ossie Davis and famous others to bring her story to life, a story that becomes hers as she describes her growing up. She writes with candor and without apology. Each episode of joy, pain or sorrow is essential to her maturity: family life in a comfortable environment; being black in a white boarding school; college life; experiencing rape, a failed business venture, heartache, and a long hospital stay after an automobile accident.
For readers not well cognizant of the lives of Betty Shabazz and Malcom X, the authors dynamic parents, or those readers whose only acquaintance stems from the media, the book reveals new depths, educates and makes the reader more discerning.
The author's depiction of the love between her mother and herself, written with clarity, poignancy, and sadness - a compelling tribute to her mother - attest to a statement once made by Betty Shabazz, speaking of her pride in Ilyasah before The National Political Congress of Black Women: "On her own Ilyasah has learned about life and death." Ironically, a statement made in part, in reference to the death of Malcom X. I believe readers of this book will absorb more information about the personal life of Malcom X and his family than from any documentary, movie or biographical article. Long after I put the book down, this story remained with me.

Rating:
Summary: Who would read a book by such an ignorant racist?
Review: I just saw the commercial for "Growing Up X". The author stated that when she was young and in school she was taught that Columbus discovered America. Upon hearing this she questioned the teacher and asked how America could have been "discovered" when people were already here. Evidently Miss X still thinks that this was some kind of brilliant revelation. For all the idiots out there that think that she has a great point, please let me "school" you for a second. Discover is a subjective word. Things can be discovered by either a stated or implied person or group and things which have been discoved by one group can also be discovered by another group. For instance, I can say that "this weekend I discovered a great bar down on South Street". That doesn't mean that no one else has been there before. It just means that this was the weekend that I discovered it. When history books state that Columbus discoved America in 1492 it is implied that it was discoved by Columbus and hence the civilized Western and Eastern worlds who did not know about its existence. I too had the same revelation when I was young, the difference is that I have become much smarter since then. I just love it when ignorant, uneducated, black racists try to "teach" us poor white folk something. It's like the blind leading those with 20/20 vision. Miss X is so racist and hates whites so much that she is willing to state something incredibly foolish just to try to convince other fools that whites are somehow wrong. What is really funny is that usually commercials sample the best of something (such as a movie) to create interest. If this "brilliant epiphany" demonstrates the best this book has to offer I feel sorry for the poor saps that buy it and even more sorry for the simple people that believe it. If for some reason sitting on the couch, listening to rap and hip hop and blaming whites for your problems isn't dropping your IQ quite as fast as you had hoped, then this book might just be for you.

Rating:
Summary: exceptional
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I got it from our public library. It kept my interest from the first to the last page. Normally, I would not read a book like this as I prefer thriller, romance novels. She did a wonderful job letting us see into her family. You will not be disappointed in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Very Insightful
Review: I thought this book was very insightfull on the lives of the legacy of Malcom X. I alway assumed that of course they grew up and had normal lives, which they did. They way their mother raised them reminded me so much of my own mother. She always wanted the best for my brothers and myself and did whatever she had to do to provide for our needs. They were sheltered children to a certain extent but their mother knew what she was doing. I really enjoyed reading this book and entering into their lives for a brief moment.

Rating:
Summary: A daughter's love
Review: Ilyasah Shabazz is the third daughter of the late Malcolm X and the late Dr. Betty Shabazz, though she is the daughter of history she is still very much her own person. Ilayasah has five sisters they are Gamilah, Attallah, Quibilah and the twins Malikah and Malaak.

Malcolm X is a figure that the world has come to know through movies and books. Dr. Betty Shabazz was seen as the noble widow of Malcolm and was known for her strength and philanthropy, but not much was ever known of their children. In Growing Up X, Ilayasah Shabazz offers a rare glimpse into how her famous parents affected her life.

On the that Malcolm X was assasinated, Betty and her four children were present, at the time of Malcoms death Betty was pregnant with the twins. Even though Ilayasah does not recall much of what happened, it has deeply affected her family. For a long time she did not understand why her father was not coming home, and why her mother often had to struggle to take care of her six children.

As Ilayasah began to grow up and leave the shelter of home she discovered that her father was no ordinary man. Some people loved him, some hated him, and because she was his daughter she was always held to a higher standard. While in college many black students expected her to be a revolutionary and all she wanted to do was go to school. This would be a problem that Ilayasah would face often but she always handled it with the dignity and grace that her mother Betty instilled in her.

This book was wonderful because you were able to see what happened to the Shabazz family after the death of Malcolm and how, through the leadership and strength of Betty, all six of her daughters grew to be strong, proud black women. The strength instilled by their mother was very important because many years later Betty would die as the result of a horrible fire, and they would need strength and faith to get them through the loss.

Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks

Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: This book fell so far from my expectations it is hard to begin explaining the things that I didn't like about this book. Ilyasah is constantly talking about herself and not really about the family as a whole. She does bring out some interesting points about Malcolm X that I didn't know, but overall I think this book is just a quick claim-to-fame type of book. I am sooooooo glad that I did not spend money on this book and I wouldn't advise anyone to purchase this. Please check it out if possible.

Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: This book gave an inside scoop on how Ilyasah and her sisters were raised by their mother Betty. I was surprised at all the privalages they receieved. There were some interesting facts on her mother and father's relationship that warmed my heart. All and all though I feel this book only dabbled on she & her sisters as a family unit. There was no mention of the birth of her sister's children, what they were feeling as expectant mothers, any marriages that took place. I found that disappointing, however it was still a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Fell Shory of Expectations
Review: This was a very dry, perfunctory piece of work. Nothing new or interesting revealed. In fact the book boiled down to Ms. Shabazz expressing the equivalent of "look at me! I'm Malcolm X's daughter. I'm my mother's favorite child. Aren't I great!" I was sorely disappointed. I would have liked to know more about her sisters as well but she craftily kept them at bay. I highly recommend the Autobiography of Malcolm X and any collection of his speeches to get a real understanding of the man. By-pass this work unless you're just looking for someone who's stroking her own ego and basking in the fame and accomplishments of her parents.