We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True
Written by Gabrielle Union
Narrated by Gabrielle Union
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Root
Chosen by Emma Straub as a Best New Celebrity Memoir
“A book of essays as raw and honest as anyone has ever produced.” — Lena Dunham, Lenny Letter
In the spirit of Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, Lena Dunham’s Not That Kind of Girl, and Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist, a powerful collection of essays about gender, sexuality, race, beauty, Hollywood, and what it means to be a modern woman.
One month before the release of the highly anticipated film The Birth of a Nation, actress Gabrielle Union shook the world with a vulnerable and impassioned editorial in which she urged our society to have compassion for victims of sexual violence. In the wake of rape allegations made against director and actor Nate Parker, Union—a forty-four-year-old actress who launched her career with roles in iconic ’90s movies—instantly became the insightful, outspoken actress that Hollywood has been desperately awaiting. With honesty and heartbreaking wisdom, she revealed her own trauma as a victim of sexual assault: ""It is for you that I am speaking. This is real. We are real.""
In this moving collection of thought provoking essays infused with her unique wisdom and deep humor, Union uses that same fearlessness to tell astonishingly personal and true stories about power, color, gender, feminism, and fame. Union tackles a range of experiences, including bullying, beauty standards, and competition between women in Hollywood, growing up in white California suburbia and then spending summers with her black relatives in Nebraska, coping with crushes, puberty, and the divorce of her parents. Genuine and perceptive, Union bravely lays herself bare, uncovering a complex and courageous life of self-doubt and self-discovery with incredible poise and brutal honesty. Throughout, she compels us to be ethical and empathetic, and reminds us of the importance of confidence, self-awareness, and the power of sharing truth, laughter, and support.
Editor's Note
A poignant read…
This isn’t just for fans of Gabrielle Union. It's for everyone who wants to follow her on her journey from being a conflicted young black girl to blossoming into a brave, self-confident black woman. Above all, it’s a story of growth, survival, empowerment, and celebration.
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Reviews for We're Going to Need More Wine
1,374 ratings153 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful book. She is soo real and truthful. Her stories on her life are amazing. Especially the Ryan Destiny chapter. Gabby is a mean girl but at least she admits it in a fun way. That wont make you hate her. I’d love to see her on iyanla!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This story is amazing, relatable, funny and inspiring. Definitely recommend.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was like sitting down at your kitchen table with your girlfriends and wine!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Through this book...I felt like Nikki and I grew up together. I thank the author for allowing me in.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gabrielle Union leaves no stone unturned and no emotion unexamined in her review of her life experiences. So many hard won gems from tough life experiences are dropped and you see where some of the inspiration from the character MaryJane comes from and yet how different from the real “Nikki” that character is. Really a great book for young women, perfect college graduation gift.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Actress Gabrielle Union shares stories from her life in this funny and very accessible memoir. She talks about growing up African American in a predominant white neighborhood, and her dating mistakes and triumphs. She also discusses her assault and her work to support survivors of sexual violence. There are moments in the book that are heartbreaking, yet it is also tremendously funny. Union has a way of telling a story that makes you feel like the two of you are old friends talking over drinks. Anyone who is a fan of Union’s work will want to read this book, but I’d wager that those unfamiliar with her movies and TV shows will also enjoy it.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book resonates deeply! The ending was like a loud emergency siren for me! I am making an appointment in the morning! Thank you
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed this book. For me it was a depiction of a girl growing up so differently to me. Less sheltered, more experimental, living her truth. Not a lot of people live like this. It gave me the thought of freedom to live life, be free, make decisions and be willing to live with them and make sure you’re fully happy. This book portrays Nicky as a life well lived!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I love memoirs, this was just natural for me to read.
Gabrielle Union’s voice is sweet to listen to. In this book, she shared her life story up to when she released the book.
Tales from her childhood, neighbourhood, parents, school, acting, career and marriages. What struck was when she talked extensively on how she tried to hide her blackness and be ‘more white’ in high school. I can’t relate to it because I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa but I know that feeling of trying to hide something to fit in and be accepted.
I can’t describe how I felt when she talked about being raped at work. People still had the temerity to ask her what she was wearing on the day it happened. Like how???
When she mentioned being ashamed to buy feminine things like tampons, I was like ‘so, she has been there?’
I did not enjoy the cussing in the book, she already left a warning at the beginning of the book but you just never adequately prepare for it. It’s different when you are reading it but listening to it is just ?.
Overall, I feel if you like someone’s work you should go ahead to read their memoir. It is their story, you like them, why not? - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book, when I read this book with was like reading my biography of one was written. Good Job Gabby.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I certainly laughed and definitely cried. This book takes readers through a gamut of emotions. However, I feel that it was poorly edited. It is not in chronological order and jumps around so much that it can be hard to follow. She discusses incidents in her life sometimes without giving readers the proper background. There is also a lot of unnecessary cursing.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book! Enjoyed her truth. Laughed became angry and cried.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The part she shares with the boys about the way they should conduct them lessons in society purely because they are black. Sad reality
About black females in the industry and how the treatment is amongst them and also the chapter on colourism
I overall loved her honesty, authenticity and sarcasm. She is the type of girl I could hang with. All the best in your future endeavors - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5OMG the fact that i was half way through this book and already recommending it to other people, just speaks values. Yes it’s her life story, but it also teaches about life in general. She talks about serious issues that people always ignore and deep thoughts, we would never admit.
And lastly that last chapter, really got me emotional and that last message, really hit home. Arghhh ❤️❤️❤️
I’m so glad I listened to this book.
Gabrielle union, you are a freaking badass! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I am super humbled by the fact that the stories are personal. The language is abit to much for me...lol but i enjoyed her being her.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I feel as if I’ve grown to love Gabrielle even more by listening to this book.
Grateful that you were brave enough to share.
Thank you! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inspiring message and relatable .. loved it so much
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gabrielle is so talented. A bit raunchy but well written.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Really liked the book. it is very relatable and i hope she writes more books.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hearing the book read by Gabrielle made the book that much better. AWESOME BOOK!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I found this book beautifully authentic, and the hard truths needed for such a time as this. It also allowed me to laugh in her freedom of who she is, which I found refreshing.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5authentic . loved every chapter. A good read all time.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing ! I laughed out loud several times.. and I’m crying as we speak SHE CAN BE A LITTLE ALL OVER THE PLACE! But overall she is a beautiful soul
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I truly enjoyed this book. It is one those books that you can read or listen to and reminisce about your past. Yet, still appreciate the twists, turns, ups and downs of Gabrielle's story. And yes, definitely a book for your library.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5“To be a black person is to understand what it is to be automatically infantilized and have it be assumed that you don’t have the talent or the skill set required to do your job”
I don't even know where to start. I picked this book up because since Deliver of From Eva, Gabrielle Union has been one of my favorite actresses. We're Going To Need More Wine, is a collection of essays so wonderfully crafted about race, sexuality, gender, and what it means to be a woman in modern day America.
Throughout these essays, Gabrielle is vulnerable and honest. She delivers her messages with humor and a rawness that allows you to feel light but also feel the punch of what she's talking about. Reading this was like sitting down with your girlfriends and talking over wine.
There is one quote from the book that stood out to me and is something that I will hold dear to me for quite some time. I think we all deserve this moment...the moment we are free, the moment we chose ourselves:
“I remember the moment I realized I was free, looking in a mirror and saying, “I choose my motherfucking self.” - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was an amazing book. She was so open and honest.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is incredible. Every single story opened my eyes wider. I laughed, I teared up, and shook my head at times. So many different subjects here were covered, many that I too could relate to. I have to say that I loved her recollection of Prince and how he impacted her life as well as her friend Suki (I hope I got that correctly) ❤️ I've been inspired again to CONTINUE my relationship with God and taking care of my temple. Thank you Nikki, for this amazing journey!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Honestly amazing almost as if she is having a conversation with you. I cried, I laughed but most importantly I related. Ps chapter 8 was amazing and encouraged even more conversation with the people around me .
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing! Well written, and very entertaining I couldn't stop laughing! She also got into some topics that are overwhelmingly emotional so be prepared for some sad, honest and real issues too.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it, Gabby/Nicki is great at telling her story and keeping you enthralled in the book. Great job!