Review: Uphill: A Memoir

Uphill: A Memoir by Jemele Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Writing allowed me to breath. 

Jemele Hill is a writer and tv personality that people in the sports world probably already knew about because of her excellent work on the network ESPN. In 2017 when she tweeted out about Donald Trump being a white supremacist, and then later Trump tweeted about her, Hill found herself more front and center in the battle already engulfing America about civil rights and conservative medias line of too much “woke”. While Hill leads with what probably garnered her the most name recognition, she quickly goes back to her childhood and tells how it all began for her. 

I realized the power of journalism, and the power of truth. 

When Hill's mother talks about it possibly being unresolved anger that lead Hill to tweeting, Hill looks back at her childhood and the first half of the book is her unpacking those emotions as she tells her story to readers. There was some of her mother and grandmother's past told and I think it's a great idea to add. It's necessary to understand other people's journey, especially the mothers and grandmothers that play such a big role in our lives, because it often has such an impact on those relationships. Hill talks about those two women's own struggles and how that of course affected her own childhood. Her mother battled drug addiction and PTSD from sexual assaults that at times had their relationship in contention. However, the love between the two always was felt and I loved the tradition Hill's mother kept of taking Hill to at least one Detroit Tiger's game a year. There was love but Hill also talked about how the stress of her childhood lead her afraid to open up and being hardened because of being let down by people you trust and love. 

Journalists are always taught to prioritize objectivity, but sometimes journalists hide behind that to avoid exposing hard truths. Adding perspective and context is far more important. 

The second half gives us more of her career journey, from Michigan State, to Free Press, Orlando, and ESPN. The drive and pride in doing something meaningful shown through and it's clear why Hill has become as notable as she has. She talked about her mistakes, not thinking through some of the things she wrote and said, the apologies and regret but ultimately growing from the experiences. We also get a story of Hill talking about her abortion that feels extra important and brave to share right now and some of her personal romantic relationships. When her career leads her to ESPN, she talks about not wanting to be a tv personality but seeing how much money it could provide and the stress of working in a business that is predominantly white. Her friendship with Michael Smith and how much their show His & Hers meant to her and the eventual end of her time at ESPN as she felt her growth was now stunted there. For ESPN fans, there is a tiny amount of tea spilled about some behind the scenes but this was Hill's story all the way. UpHill revealed the personal journey that lead to Jemele Hill's professional success.

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