GOING OFF: A Guide for Black Women Who've Just About Had Enough

Letting pent-up anger explode doesn't improve one's situation and can be terribly self-destructive, observe Childs (founder and president of the Blackboard African-American Bestseller List) and Palmer (a psychotherapist). Zeroing in on black women's anger, they note specific "triggers"—getting "dissed," being discriminated against by whites, being treated with suspicion. Other blood-pressure raisers on their list will find resonance with women of all races: betrayal by loved ones, overwork and road rage. Most of their practical advice—including tracking anger triggers and learning to defuse them; avoiding fantasizing about what others might be thinking; and seeking counseling—would be helpful to anyone, although much of it is easier discussed than done. The suggestions in the last section of the book—writing in a journal, creating rituals of renewal and daily prayer—are sweet but a tad naïve. The kind of woman who hauls off and socks her best friend for running off with her man has a long way to go before she's going to take a scented bath and light candles for forgiveness or try a little "affirmative breathing." (May)