You Got Anything Stronger?: Stories
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- Create Date：2021-10-01 08:51:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Gabrielle Union
- ISBN：0063119714
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Summary
Remember when we hit it off so well that we decided We're Going to Need More Wine？ Well， this time you and I are going to turn to our friend the bartender and ask， You Got Anything Stronger？ I promise to continue to make you laugh， but with this round， the stakes get higher as the conversation goes deeper。
So。 Where were we？
Right， you and I left off in October 2017， when my first book came out。 The weeks before were filled with dreams of loss。 Pets dying。 My husband leaving me。 Babies not being born。 My therapist told me it was my soul preparing for my true self to emerge after letting go of my grief。 I had finally spoken openly about my fertility journey。 I was having second thoughts--in fact， so many thoughts they were organizing to go on strike。 But I knew I had to be honest because I didn't want other women going through IVF to feel as alone as I did。 I had suffered in isolation， having so many miscarriages that I could not give an exact number。 Strangers shared their own journeys and heartbreak with me。 I had led with the truth， and it opened the door to compassion。
When I released We're Going to Need More Wine， the response was so great people asked when I would do a sequel。 The New York Times even ran a headline reading "We're Going to Need More Gabrielle Union。" Frankly， after being so open and honest in my writing， I wasn't sure there was more of me I was ready to share。 But life happens with all its plot twists。 And new stories demand to be told。 This time， I need to be more vulnerable--not so much for me， but anyone who feels alone in what they're going through。
A lot has changed in four years--I became a mom and I'm raising two amazing girls。 My husband retired。 My career has expanded so that I have the opportunity to lift up other voices that need to be heard。 But the world has also shown us that we have a lot we still have to fight for--as women， as black women， as mothers， as aging women， as human beings， as friends。 In You Got Anything Stronger？， I show you how this ever-changing life presents challenges， even as it gives me moments of pure joy。 I take you on a girl's night at Chateau Marmont， and I also talk to Isis， my character from Bring It On。 For the first time， I truly open up about my surrogacy journey and the birth of Kaavia James Union Wade。 And I take on racist institutions and practices in the entertainment industry， asking for equality and real accountability。
You Got Anything Stronger？ is me at my most vulnerable。 I have recently found true strength in that vulnerability， and I want to share that power with you here， through this book。
So。 Where were we？
Right， you and I left off in October 2017， when my first book came out。 The weeks before were filled with dreams of loss。 Pets dying。 My husband leaving me。 Babies not being born。 My therapist told me it was my soul preparing for my true self to emerge after letting go of my grief。 I had finally spoken openly about my fertility journey。 I was having second thoughts--in fact， so many thoughts they were organizing to go on strike。 But I knew I had to be honest because I didn't want other women going through IVF to feel as alone as I did。 I had suffered in isolation， having so many miscarriages that I could not give an exact number。 Strangers shared their own journeys and heartbreak with me。 I had led with the truth， and it opened the door to compassion。
When I released We're Going to Need More Wine， the response was so great people asked when I would do a sequel。 The New York Times even ran a headline reading "We're Going to Need More Gabrielle Union。" Frankly， after being so open and honest in my writing， I wasn't sure there was more of me I was ready to share。 But life happens with all its plot twists。 And new stories demand to be told。 This time， I need to be more vulnerable--not so much for me， but anyone who feels alone in what they're going through。
A lot has changed in four years--I became a mom and I'm raising two amazing girls。 My husband retired。 My career has expanded so that I have the opportunity to lift up other voices that need to be heard。 But the world has also shown us that we have a lot we still have to fight for--as women， as black women， as mothers， as aging women， as human beings， as friends。 In You Got Anything Stronger？， I show you how this ever-changing life presents challenges， even as it gives me moments of pure joy。 I take you on a girl's night at Chateau Marmont， and I also talk to Isis， my character from Bring It On。 For the first time， I truly open up about my surrogacy journey and the birth of Kaavia James Union Wade。 And I take on racist institutions and practices in the entertainment industry， asking for equality and real accountability。
You Got Anything Stronger？ is me at my most vulnerable。 I have recently found true strength in that vulnerability， and I want to share that power with you here， through this book。
Reviews
Carl
，
Much darker than her first book， "We are going to need more wine"。 Still， the book has many funny and thought-provoking moments。 Much darker than her first book， "We are going to need more wine"。 Still， the book has many funny and thought-provoking moments。 。。。more
Jessica
，
This was a good follow-up to Gabrielle Union's first memoir。 I love her writing style and her personality really shines through。 At the start， I worried that the book would be all about her infertility journey but that didn't turn out to be the case at all。 It really is a book of "essays" and each one has something interesting to say- about race or LGBTQ+ folks or friendship。 I really enjoyed this！ This was a good follow-up to Gabrielle Union's first memoir。 I love her writing style and her personality really shines through。 At the start， I worried that the book would be all about her infertility journey but that didn't turn out to be the case at all。 It really is a book of "essays" and each one has something interesting to say- about race or LGBTQ+ folks or friendship。 I really enjoyed this！ 。。。more
Sara
，
Fantastic book！ Read books by Black women！Quick read， she's a celebrity etc - still she is smart， has important things to say and her experiences matter！ Fantastic book！ Read books by Black women！Quick read， she's a celebrity etc - still she is smart， has important things to say and her experiences matter！ 。。。more
Marla Boyd
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I really enjoyed it。 It started off with me thinking I wouldn't but her life experiences and knowing now what she didn't know then is a lesson for all of us to glean from。 I really enjoyed it。 It started off with me thinking I wouldn't but her life experiences and knowing now what she didn't know then is a lesson for all of us to glean from。 。。。more
Sarah Cooper
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Gabrielle Union can really write a memoir！
Julie Wawers
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This is the sequel to We’re Going to Need More Wine- a book that I LOVED。 I did listen to that one and read the print version of this （I was too impatient to wait for the library hold on the audiobook！）。 I’ll always love Gabrielle Union because of her Omaha connection， but she’s also just a total bad ass。 Her family stories are my favorite- she writes about using a surrogate to have her daughter Kaavia & about her stepdaughter Zaya。 She also uses this book to inform her reader- about blackface b This is the sequel to We’re Going to Need More Wine- a book that I LOVED。 I did listen to that one and read the print version of this （I was too impatient to wait for the library hold on the audiobook！）。 I’ll always love Gabrielle Union because of her Omaha connection， but she’s also just a total bad ass。 Her family stories are my favorite- she writes about using a surrogate to have her daughter Kaavia & about her stepdaughter Zaya。 She also uses this book to inform her reader- about blackface being used in modern sitcoms， black fishing， and the media exploiting images of violence against Black people。 I plan to purchase this book so that I can refer to while teaching about Black stereotypes pre-Huck Finn。 Overall， I really liked it- although not quite as much as her first， which could definitely be because I didn’t listen to it。 。。。more
Rupi
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I am a huge fan of Gabrielle Union and recently attended her book tour for You Got Something Stronger。 Both experiences made me love her even more。 The short story approach to her book made this a very quick and easy read。 It felt like you were catching up with a friend over wine and somehow it became a deep heart to heart conversation。I am in awe of Union's ability to be so vulnerable and open in sharing some of her toughest chapters of her life。 Her infertility journey followed by her surrogac I am a huge fan of Gabrielle Union and recently attended her book tour for You Got Something Stronger。 Both experiences made me love her even more。 The short story approach to her book made this a very quick and easy read。 It felt like you were catching up with a friend over wine and somehow it became a deep heart to heart conversation。I am in awe of Union's ability to be so vulnerable and open in sharing some of her toughest chapters of her life。 Her infertility journey followed by her surrogacy was very empowering and informative。 I had no idea about the politics behind surrogacy and really appreciated her transparency on the subject。 She also openly talked about the ongoing racism and inequality in Hollywood。 While there were a lot of heavy topics， there were some great laugh out loud moments。 My personal favorites were the the strip club incident and the dance off with Bruno Mars。 I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that one。All in all a great read， especially if you are a fan。 。。。more
Briana
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Overall a really good book。 Gabrielle Union is one of my favorite voices to read。 This book flows a lot like We’re going to need more wine， no plot， just vibes。 This book discusses many different topics but much more serious topics than We’re going to need more wine。 It’s not what I was expecting but still a good read。 Will I come back to it， I’m not so sure。
Black Carrie
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This was a humorous read full of contradictions， dramatics ， fake deep ， and a sly inside look @ the Wade/Union dysfunction。 I feel like Gabrielle and Jada pinkette should link up because they're both low key alcoholics （ their words not mine） ， revolved around delusion， standing on agreement in long suffering marriages they refuse to let go of 。 Gabrielle is sooo stubborn & doing her best to change her mean girl attitude but you can't change something that's embedded in you 。 In this book she c This was a humorous read full of contradictions， dramatics ， fake deep ， and a sly inside look @ the Wade/Union dysfunction。 I feel like Gabrielle and Jada pinkette should link up because they're both low key alcoholics （ their words not mine） ， revolved around delusion， standing on agreement in long suffering marriages they refuse to let go of 。 Gabrielle is sooo stubborn & doing her best to change her mean girl attitude but you can't change something that's embedded in you 。 In this book she comes off sooo bitter & resentful because she's not the mother of this dysfunctional man's children; especially in regards to the text Zaire supposedly sent 。。。。 She highlighted Dwayne's mean behavior then tried to cover it up like he really cares about her 。。。。 clearly Gabrielle is insecure & afraid to fail so that's why she holds onto this faux happy United front 。 I feel she definitely emasculated Dwayne she gets to call his outside child a break baby & he says nothing about it （smh 。。。 I feel if you can boldly disrespect a child without cause you deserve whatever hardships that are COMING your way ） She talks about colorism coming from others but she didn't Explain why she chose a WW surrogate so she's feeding into colorism too 。。。。 especially mentioning her White counterparts CONSTANTLY like she did in the last book （ ATP I believe she wish she was white ） especially when she created a role specifically for a yt woman but not a black woman 。。。。 she confuses me I can't even take her serious 。。。。。。 it's so odd she said she and Dwayne wanted the baby but during the surrogacy process he was out of town or on FT （ Lmfao ig whatever is good for the goose is good for the gander in regards to this weird situation） The ISIS chapter made no sense because she did a good job （ her best role yet） but she's mad because she didn't GHETTO-fy it up Lmfaooo & if she did act super ghetto she would've complained about that too ！！！ She's so indecisive。 This bad energy she's carrying around & the forced happy family situation she's trying to make a trend is soo painfully awkward to watch。 No matter how much suffering it is to the family & how embarrassing it makes her look this is a game she doesn't want to lose ，。。。。 I feel she should've watched her past interviews before writing this book because what she said in prior interviews is vastly different from what she's saying in the book 。。。。。She's so toxic from getting drunk ， trying her hardest @ controlling other people， & cussing out her husband friends because they're users who have bad energy ？ Lmfaooo girl look in the mirror ！！！！！ & sage yourself 。I don't regret reading this book because I laughed & took notes on WHAT I DONT WANT ， how I WILL NOT act ， & what I WON'T put up with 。。。。 despite her hurt and pain we can all learn something from this crazy self hating scorpio ♏️ 。 She puts a lot of advice in this book （ especially chapter 17 ） but from her confession（s） she doesn't take her own advice 。。。。。。。 I hope she lives up to her own words and create opportunities for black women because in this book she didn't create opportunities for black women only yt women。 。。。more
Living My Best Book Life
，
Gabrielle Union's follow-up to her previous book 'We're Going to Need More Wine'， is another showcase of her writing sweet spot。 The essays showcase her ups and downs， lessons learned， and her signature comedic relief。I am such a fan of Gabrielle's and I think her honesty and vulnerability are what readers will appreciate。 Her truths bring up so many emotions and she isn't afraid to share them。 She shares moments like her fertility struggles， her stepdaughter's truly brave coming-out story， the Gabrielle Union's follow-up to her previous book 'We're Going to Need More Wine'， is another showcase of her writing sweet spot。 The essays showcase her ups and downs， lessons learned， and her signature comedic relief。I am such a fan of Gabrielle's and I think her honesty and vulnerability are what readers will appreciate。 Her truths bring up so many emotions and she isn't afraid to share them。 She shares moments like her fertility struggles， her stepdaughter's truly brave coming-out story， the pressures of age and fame， and some hilarious dance/karaoke battles。 The beauty in Gabby's writing is that even though she is this famous superstar she also seems so down to earth。 Like she is someone I would definitely hang out with。 For her to be so honest， is shocking and inspiring。 She is connecting with so many people and makes us all feel like we aren't alone in our struggles and how it's okay to be happy when we experience good times。I give You Got Anything Stronger？ 4 stars。 It is an emotional， inspiring， and down-to-earth read。 I think Gabby definitely found her sweet spot in the writing world because she just knows how to connect with readers。 。。。more
Jeunesse
，
Raw truth， vulnerability and humour。 That’s what you’re getting when you read this book。 I love Gabrielle Union as an actress， an author and the person that I’ve come to know through both of her books。
Mom_Loves_Reading
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Review to come :-）
Laura DeNardo
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I think we do need something stronger！ Another great book of essays from an intelligent and honest woman。 This book is so real。 She tackles infertility and surrogacy， rape， perimenopause， the journey of her transgender step daughter， racism， the myth of "balance"， what she really wished for her character in "Bring It On"。 She tackles it all with grace and some （necessary） cursing and the truth。 I admire her more and more。 One of the best books of the year。 I think we do need something stronger！ Another great book of essays from an intelligent and honest woman。 This book is so real。 She tackles infertility and surrogacy， rape， perimenopause， the journey of her transgender step daughter， racism， the myth of "balance"， what she really wished for her character in "Bring It On"。 She tackles it all with grace and some （necessary） cursing and the truth。 I admire her more and more。 One of the best books of the year。 。。。more
Kingpin
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Black excellence。 There's power in vulnerability and the voice of black women。 💪🏾 Black excellence。 There's power in vulnerability and the voice of black women。 💪🏾 。。。more
lily
，
I haven't read an entire book in a day in a while。 Feels good to know I'm still capable。 But it's extremely easy when it's a book as engaging， vulnerable， honest， and insightful as this one。 I've always loved Gabrielle Union for many reasons， 1: Bring It On， need I say more？， 2: Her beautiful， flawless face， 3: Her talent and humor and empathy， 4: also not just the fact that she's married to Dwayne Wade， but that they seem like such a couple to emulate; they have gone through some shit and cont I haven't read an entire book in a day in a while。 Feels good to know I'm still capable。 But it's extremely easy when it's a book as engaging， vulnerable， honest， and insightful as this one。 I've always loved Gabrielle Union for many reasons， 1: Bring It On， need I say more？， 2: Her beautiful， flawless face， 3: Her talent and humor and empathy， 4: also not just the fact that she's married to Dwayne Wade， but that they seem like such a couple to emulate; they have gone through some shit and continue to love each other and that's beautiful。Okay。 Enough of listing my reasons for loving Gabrielle Union。 Although a lot of those reasons are why I liked this book， too。 The stories she tells still have the conversational， relatable style as the first book， which captivated me immediately。 It definitely has the girl's wine night vibe， which I enjoy。 These stories are also so。 real。 so messy。 so beautiful。 sometimes funny。 yet hopeful。 She experiences the pain of her life in its entirety， which also means acknowledging how much it hurts， while also trying to get through it and come out stronger on the other side。 I love that in anyone。 I knew I had to request this from the library as soon as it was released and I'm glad I put mine in early。 Read this。。。you'll want to devour it in a day like I did。 。。。more
Lekeisha The Booknerd
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4。5 stars
Stacy
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I loved Gabrielle Union's first book and this one was even better。 She is so wide and funny and honest。 I loved Gabrielle Union's first book and this one was even better。 She is so wide and funny and honest。 。。。more
D。S。
，
Gabrielle Union’s writing lifts me up。 She speaks honestly and confidently about difficult subjects， and does it in a way that leaves me deeply soothed and strengthened。
Tawanda
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She’s such an engaging story teller！ Enjoyed this collection of essays。
Brandon Collins
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Very fast read！ I wanted to take my time and soak in the information！ Gabrielle is an awesome person and after reading this I just want to hug her。 Very powerful book
jess
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she has a gift of reflective writing that makes anyone （or at least me） understand and to an extent relate to her situations even when they aren't inherently relatable - and to a deeper degree it makes the lessons she learned even more applicable to anyone's situations。 i got so much out of this book i really love her writing she has a gift of reflective writing that makes anyone （or at least me） understand and to an extent relate to her situations even when they aren't inherently relatable - and to a deeper degree it makes the lessons she learned even more applicable to anyone's situations。 i got so much out of this book i really love her writing 。。。more
Kisha Efai
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Great stories， a few nuggets of wisdom
CINDY KELSON
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A collection of stories from a fellow humanStarted off really strong and ended on a strong note but I questioned why some of the other chapters and characters were included。 but
Maureen Onyeziri
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The writing is crisp and clear。The pace is just right。The stories are moving and vulnerable and true and important。This book was a revelation， and I am grateful to Gabrielle for heeding the call to write it。I found myself nodding at several points and other points being so thoroughly， so viscerally moved， that I had to stop and steady my jagged breath and racing heart。In You Got Anything Stronger， Gabrielle Union continues where her first memoir， We're Going To Need More Wine， stops。 She dives h The writing is crisp and clear。The pace is just right。The stories are moving and vulnerable and true and important。This book was a revelation， and I am grateful to Gabrielle for heeding the call to write it。I found myself nodding at several points and other points being so thoroughly， so viscerally moved， that I had to stop and steady my jagged breath and racing heart。In You Got Anything Stronger， Gabrielle Union continues where her first memoir， We're Going To Need More Wine， stops。 She dives head-first into a no-holds-barred， tell-all about her harrowing struggle with infertility and eventual journey to motherhood through surrogacy， being a stepmom to a blossoming young trans woman， the harsh consequences of the age difference between her and her husband， the state of Blackness in America and racism in entertainment （with a particularly scary story about a trip to Croatia）， and SO MUCH MORE。 As biographies go， those of celebrity actors are not often good。 But this one is。 Gabrielle Union is a thoughtful storyteller and that thoughtfulness shines through in this book。 I recommend it as a must-read for anyone who enjoys well-told stories and isn't afraid of hard truths because this book is chuck full of both。 。。。more
Holly
，
This follow-up memoir to We're Going to Need More Wine reminded me of just how much I adore Gabrielle Union。 （I do recommend reading that one first if you haven’t already， though it’s not required。） This book covers very emotional and personal topics such as: her daughter’s birth via surrogacy， her stepdaughter’s coming out as transgender， suicidal ideation， and racism in it’s unfortunate myriad of forms。 But this book isn’t all heavy - it also features a dance off with Bruno Mars， strip clubs， This follow-up memoir to We're Going to Need More Wine reminded me of just how much I adore Gabrielle Union。 （I do recommend reading that one first if you haven’t already， though it’s not required。） This book covers very emotional and personal topics such as: her daughter’s birth via surrogacy， her stepdaughter’s coming out as transgender， suicidal ideation， and racism in it’s unfortunate myriad of forms。 But this book isn’t all heavy - it also features a dance off with Bruno Mars， strip clubs， and a limoncello Thanksgiving。 So come for the ex-lax story but stay for the needed racial justice discussion。 。。。more
michele barrera
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Too much complaining I thought this book is more about complaining about things then about her life。 For someone who has made it in the white world as you call it I don’t understand。
Shelby
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4。75 rounded up to 5 stars。 Loved this one just as much as her first book。 I highly recommend listening to the audio versions， she's a great storyteller and narrator， in addition to writer。 4。75 rounded up to 5 stars。 Loved this one just as much as her first book。 I highly recommend listening to the audio versions， she's a great storyteller and narrator， in addition to writer。 。。。more
Mary Sisney
，
I really enjoyed Union’s first book and was enjoying this one until near the end。 My favorite stories were the ones involving the dance contest between Gabrielle， Serena Williams， and a few other female friends and Bruno Mars’ all-male crew and the one focused on the making of and response to the cheerleader movie “Bring It On。” Since Gabrielle was drinking during the Bruno Mars episode， I’m not sure her description of what happened is accurate， but it’s a funny story。 The cheerleader story make I really enjoyed Union’s first book and was enjoying this one until near the end。 My favorite stories were the ones involving the dance contest between Gabrielle， Serena Williams， and a few other female friends and Bruno Mars’ all-male crew and the one focused on the making of and response to the cheerleader movie “Bring It On。” Since Gabrielle was drinking during the Bruno Mars episode， I’m not sure her description of what happened is accurate， but it’s a funny story。 The cheerleader story makes a more serious point about how black females are perceived。 Some of the white fans of Isis， the character Gabrielle played in the movie， think that she is tougher and more “ghetto” in her confrontation with the character played by Kristen Dunst than she is。 Many black females， especially the darker ones， have had that experience。 Until I read “Standards And Practices，” the only story I didn’t enjoy was the one called “On The Compassion Of Strippers。” At one point in the other story that I didn’t like， Gabrielle says that she has been “read” for her “filth。” Well， yeah， when a supposedly sophisticated grown-ass woman thinks it’s cute to write a story about Ex-Lax and a stripper club， someone needs to “read” her。 The “Standards And Practices” story should have been about her experiences on “America’s Got Talent。” Instead it’s about blackface episodes on other NBC shows—four on “30 Rock，” one on “Community。” While I agree with her comments about brutalized black bodies being displayed （I’ve said that the George Floyd murder was an erotic tape for white supremacists and Chauvin knew it， which is why he stared directly into the camera）， the discussion of blackface is too simplistic。 Gabrielle surely knows that she can’t speak for all black people in suggesting that blackface is always racist。 I defended one of her “America’s Got Talent” cohosts （Julianne Hough） as well as the late night Jimmys （Kimmel and Fallon） when they were “dragged” on social media for darkening their skin to play black people。 There is obviously a difference between blackface and what Gabrielle calls brownface。 And what about the many black people who have whitened their faces to play white folks （Eddie Murphy， two of the Wayans brothers， Whoopi Goldberg）？ Melvin Van Peebles， who died recently， directed a movie in 1970， where Godfrey Cambridge played a racist white man who woke up one morning to find he was black。 The very dark Cambridge wore whiteface and a blonde wig at the beginning of the movie。 It would be interesting if Gabrielle discussed the differences in the way audiences view the same scenes （the way， for instance， some whites viewed her character Isis）。 I’ve pointed out that some white audiences of the throwback movies during the Obama era—“The Butler，” “Django Unchained，” the Jackie Robinson movie—were enjoying living in the past when blacks were in their place， when they were butlers in the White House， were slaves who could be beaten， and were unwanted on white sports teams and could be called the n-word。 Gabrielle’s discussion of blackface on Tina Fey’s show and a show that featured Donald Glover before he was a multi-award winning actor and singer instead of the problems she had with racism on AGT was dishonest and disingenuous。 Her book suffered because of it。 。。。more
Maggie
，
3。5 stars。 When this book is good， it’s GREAT。 Her honesty and vulnerability， her willingness to be open about the struggles many women don’t see represented， are her superpowers。 And the chapter on Zaya should be required reading for every parent。
Marie-Ange Janvier
，