Jael Richardson's picture book Because You Are is a love letter to her younger self
Nikky Manfredi | CBC Books | Posted: October 24, 2022 7:52 PM | Last Updated: October 24, 2022
‘We are conditioned to not be satisfied with our bodies and that’s across gender”
Jael Richardson's latest children's book features the lessons she wished she learned as a little girl.
Written with rhythm in mind, Because You Are is a story about self-esteem, inner beauty and learning how to prioritize what you do over how you look. Featuring illustrations by Toronto-based character designer and visual development artist Nneka Myers, the picture book was originally conceived of as a letter to Richardson's younger self — with a focus on being joyful and loving herself as a young Black girl.
Richardson is an author, the founder and the artistic director of the Festival for Literary Diversity (FOLD) and was the books columnist for Q on CBC Radio.
In addition to writing Because You Are, she is also the author of the nonfiction book The Stone Thrower, which was adapted into a picture book of the same name. Her debut novel, Gutter Child, was published in 2021 and was a finalist for the 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
The Brampton author recently appeared on the CBC Kids Book Club, a segment which features Canadian children's book authors paired up with CBC Kids best friends Gary the Unicorn, Mr. Orlando and Cottonball.
Richardson spoke to CBC Books about who she wrote the book for, how she came to love her body and writing her favourite page of Because You Are.
Writing for one person
"People always ask, 'Who are you writing for?' and you think: 'I'm writing for my community or I'm writing [for this reason].'
Especially as a Black writer, it's very difficult to navigate that question. I grew up in a very white space. I had a lot of white friends. My parents had a lot of white friends. I actually did not know a lot of Black folks, especially family members, until I met my husband and was a part of his very large family.
"I think I struggle sometimes with who I am writing for. Am I writing for friends I grew up with or the family members who are white — or the family who is Black? I don't know. And it feels like those choices aren't honest sometimes.
"[Author] Eden Robinson gave me the best answer ever. She was like, 'I always write for one person. No matter the book, one person is on my mind.'
"When I write for one person, it removes all of that pressure. Writing a book you make so many choices about what to include, what to exclude, what to cut or what order to put things in. When you think about one person, it makes it so much easier. I do that for my novels, for everything.
"For this one, for sure, it was my niece.
[Author] Eden Robinson gave me the best answer ever. She was like, 'I always write for one person. No matter the book, one person is on my mind.'
"I have 12 nephews and one niece. So it's this distinct experience for me of being a part of a young woman's life in a particular way. She's literally the only little woman whose life I'm actively involved in.
"People would say she's a girly girl. She loves clothes. She loves things about her hair. She loves pink and purple. She's gotten 'married.' She loves boys. She's taking in a lot of things very early; she's only seven [laughs].
"All the time, I have to think, 'Wow, you look so strong today. You look so smart.' I have to reshape how I say things to her.
"I was thinking about her all the time as I was crafting this message. She was actually one of the first people I ever gave the book to and she didn't know I dedicated the book to her. She was so touched. I was more touched to be able to give the book to her. For her to hear that message over and over again, and for her to read it herself.
"What a powerful thing to take in so early."
WATCH | Jael Richardson discusses Because You Are on CBC Kids Books Club:
Coming into your own
"The way I would describe [the book] is the things I wish I had heard or been told or remembered when I was younger. There are lessons that I've learned, but at the time, I was focused on the wrong things and I wish someone had reminded me what was really important.
"I was constantly trying to look pretty. When does my hair look prettiest? What outfits make me look prettiest? Who do I want to see me looking prettiest? All these thoughts shaped so much of my time. There was such a keen awareness of prettiness and such a low awareness of politics and what was going on in the world. I wish that was reversed.
I realized at forty that I have to decide if I'm ever going to be happy with my body.
"Approaching my 40th birthday, one of the things you hear a lot is the dread of turning 40, this terrifying approach to a new decade. What was fascinating for me was I actually felt like my best self going into my forties. I felt the most accomplished and financially free I'd ever felt. I felt the most free to do so many things. I felt the strongest in some ways, physically, and also the most appreciative of how I looked in my entire life.
"We are conditioned to not be satisfied with our bodies and that is across gender. I realized at 40 that I have to decide if I'm ever going to be happy with my body. Everything around me will tell me not to be. It will tell me I need to wear only this. I need to wear flattering clothes, which I didn't realize just means 'flatter,' right?
"To look flatter, thinner. I will spend my entire life being unhappy with my body if I don't actively decide that it is okay to look like me and not just okay, it's a fine choice."
Writing the life your ancestors wanted for you
"There's a page early on in the book that says, 'You are loved by your ancestors who hoped for you and longed for you and here you are.' Just reading that I almost tear up again.
"It's about not just remembering in the now that we are more than what we feel or see but also, especially in the Black community, that reminder that we are living the life that our ancestors probably dreamed we could have.
We are living the life that our ancestors probably dreamed we could have.
"I think of my grandmother, great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers that I never met and don't know. To imagine a world where I could be living a financially secure life and publishing a book and honouring them inside the book, it's probably my favourite page in terms of what it represents for me."
Jael Richardson's comments have been edited for length and clarity.