Arshay Cooper

A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black Rowing Team by Arshay Cooper is a 2020 Flatiron publication.

This book is definitely an inspiration, and I am so glad Arshay decided to share his journey with us.

All the way around there are people who support, encourage, pray, and inspire Arshay- but, of course, if he had not been his own determination and willingness to do what his mother asked, what his coaches told him to do, and think for himself at the same time his story could have gone a different way.

While the rowing team is- in and of itself -a testimony of teamwork, hard work, and dedication- with thrilling victories and heartbreaking defeats, it is also about Arshay’s personal life and his faith and belief in a higher power. Arshay, with a huge assist from his mother, who did a complete 180 in her life- grew stronger as a person and learned about sacrifice and leadership.

The rowing team was the catalyst of that- giving him a place to focus his energy, keep him on track, and a goal to work towards. It was too disciplined and hard work, but it also created relationships, broke barriers, and set a positive example for everyone.

Overall, I recommend this book to all audiences.

*Some occasional mild language and limited descriptions of street violence, gangs, and drug use.… (mere)

4.5, rounding up

This is a really solid memoir that I found completely by chance, growing through the available audiobooks in my library's catalog. This book is a memoir of being a member of the first African-American public high school rowing team, at Manley High School on the West side of Chicago in the late 90s. Cooper grew up in a small apartment on the West Side and vividly describes the hardships--gangs recruiting high-school boys, a mother who was addicted to drugs--of his childhood and documents the ways in which joining the crew team changed his and his teammates' lives.

I'm rounding this up to 5 stars because I think that this story is really important. The writing didn't entirely click with me--it often felt a bit didactic, as there is a lot of reflection on what Cooper learns through rowing and there are also multiple times when Cooper recounts him giving very speech-like advice that comes off as a little inauthentic. I read online that Cooper was inspired to write this book for the students he was working with in the NYC public schools, and I have to think that this book would be really excellent for those students. Cooper's experience is definitely relevant to a broader audience, though, and I would definitely recommend this book.… (mere)