We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True

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.

BUY THE BOOK

272 pages

Average rating: 8.39

119 RATINGS

|

10 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

VOrtegaa_
Jan 12, 2025
10/10 stars
Gabrielle Union KILLED this written debut of her life. I couldn’t put it down! Every story told really captured her personality without taking away from the story itself. She was transparent and straight forward. Gabrielle explains every story with how it helped shaped her into the woman she is today with grace and honesty. 10/10 would read again!
Lisa P
Jan 10, 2025
8/10 stars
Another one of those reviews where I wish half stars were available because this would have been 4.5 stars instead of 4. Yes, really. I truly enjoyed this - Union's style is real, raw and honest, no sugar-coating the good, the bad and the embarrassing. At times it felt like there was a lot of jumping around in the storyline, but then again, We're Going to Need More Wine is not a novel or an autobiography, but a collection of essays that tackles issues such as sex, race and racism, friendships, adolescents, rape, relationships, infertility and more, and mixing hilarity with somber seriousness.
BSU.CSI
Jul 25, 2024
10/10 stars
This book was very personable and catching. Gab really made you feel like you were a part of her journey. It was very engaging and easy read filled with moments and laughter, love and tears!
Anonymous
Feb 03, 2024
10/10 stars
Wow. This book was amazing and mind opening and heart stopping.
Sunee'
Jul 07, 2023
Hosted by Sunee'

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.