New Book Releases
BY SHAUNDALE RENA
Heroes of Sports & Justice
Picture this … A young child growing up in Philadelphia hangs onto the words of his ancestors—their hopes and dreams on one side, their horrors on another. This child would come to know his own strengths and limitations, using each to feed the narrative of his DNA. His paternal lineage is Black and his maternal lineage is Puerto Rican.
Although Ayden’s parents had always reminded him of who he was, he struggles to understand the path that unfolds for him. Slowly, he comes to see that he is who he has always been: A champion. An Olympian. One of the greatest athletes in the world.
Race of My Own captivated me because the story of Ayden Owens-Delerme is real and relevant. In a day of insta-famous people striving for clicks and likes, he plays the hand he was given—or, he simply runs the race he was handed. Raised in suburban America, Ayden is a child who never fit into one category. He wasn’t Black enough. He wasn’t Puerto Rican enough. He wasn’t fully accepted or embraced outside of his family and his sport. Yet he remained steadfast in a sense of knowingness that he was being beckoned for more.
Beyond track and field, Ayden’s challenges with his identity issues set the stage for his mental struggles. In Race of My Own, he reveals the depression, anxiety and anger that he experienced. It isn’t until he acts on his instinct and convinces his parents to allow him to move to Puerto Rico that things seemingly fall into place. The move refueled and reinforced his childhood compulsion to watch the Olympics. He found himself cheering for a native Puerto Rican runner whose Olympic career would someday mirror his own.
Ayden shares insight from his early races with Nadia Track Club in Pennsylvania and traces his steps to becoming an Olympic hopeful. From someone who despised running his first time on a track, to competing in international track and field events, this book is full of surprises and rich with historical facts. Along the way to discovering his full potential, Ayden’s detours are essential to his growth.
From his great-great-grandparents and great-great-uncles, to his own future offspring, Ayden pens letters and includes old family photos and genealogical references. His familial ties with W.E.B. DuBois and Nannie Helen Burroughs, founder of the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, DC, let him know that he has big shoes to fill. Inspired, Ayden focuses on running his own race to self-discovery and fulfilling his Olympic dreams.
This quarter’s Black Men as Heroes feature is an eye-opening nudge at knowing self. It took Ayden years to prepare for his Olympic quest; however, it took a simple—but elusive—awakening within to activate the idea that “greatness” starts on the inside.
As a Black woman, I appreciate this story for my son, but I enjoyed it for myself. It is part memoir, part history and part athleticism. If you just want a great story to read this fall, then here it is! Coming off the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, there’s no better time to consider Ayden’s story.
From underdog to unbreakable is definitely a theme that resonates. From the cover photo to the opening page and closing line, Ayden gives detail after detail of his wins and his losses, not just on the field. He discusses the highs and lows of dealing with his “demons,” as well as the importance of having the right “team” in place to attempt life’s impossibles.
Through it all, he keeps his wits about him—and his faith in himself—and does the hard things anyway. Like daily four-hour workouts … Sheer dedication. Pure determination. I could not, and I would not even—ever.
Race of My Own teaches us that, with discipline, anything is possible—if you want it badly enough. In Ayden’s case, he had the help of his ancestors along the way. On various pages, readers get a sense of the historical forces at work and who was maneuvering them. And on others, we see what it looks and feels like to be left alone with ourselves to deal with “life’s happenings.”
The good news is that we have a choice. And Ayden chooses to run his own race!
Another thing I found valuable is the level of intentionality in the author’s writing. Ayden is passionate about telling the whole truth. America did more harm than good on many fronts, and he doesn’t shy away from exposing the vile remnants of his Puerto Rican diaspora.
From the slums of Puerto Rico to the racism of America, his family persisted on both sides for generations. And, here he is! A world champion on the great stage, telling his story … one that will endure through the ages.
Another fall go-to book about Black Men as Heroes was written by Dr. Emile Pitre, who started the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) at the University of Washington in the 60s. Dr. Pitre hails from a little place I call home in Bunkie, Louisiana.
Revolution to Evolution: The Story of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity at the University of Washington is significant because it is part of Black history and Black excellence. Dr. Pitre, now recognized as elder statesman of OMA&D, has seen tens of thousands of students of color graduate from the University of Washington since the inception of the OMA&D, stemming from a list of demands from a few Black students during the Civil Rights Movement. Letters and photographs are also included in his book. This is another real-life account of Black men (and women) heroes-in-action.
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Shaundale Rénā (@iShaundale) is a multi-award-winning freelance developmental editor specializing in romantic comedy, historical, contemporary and women’s fiction, and nonfiction self-help and memoir. With six international awards under her belt, Shaundale has collaborated with imprints like Adams Media/Simon & Schuster and Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing on bestsellers like Self-Care for Black Women and Scarlet Carnation. Her most successful self-published clients, Kimberlee Yolanda Williams and Zariah L. Banks, have won multiple awards for their work, Dear White Woman, Please Come Home and Beauty Beheld, respectively. Shaundale’s passion for connecting the big picture of a story shines through in her work with indie and traditionally published authors alike. When she’s not editing for clients and writing under her alias (@StonyRhodes), she writes the New Releases column for KIZA Blacklit Magazine and book reviews for the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC). Learn more about Shaundale and her work in the literary arts by visiting www.ShaundaleRe