This Leaves Me Okay: Race, Legacy, and Letters From My Grandmother

5 Star Review

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Editorial Book Review:

By SB Borcy

Walter Pryor's This Leaves Me Okay: Race, Legacy, and Letters From My Grandmother is a profoundly human and deeply resonant reflection on the legacy of race in America, family, and identity. Establishing Pryor as a voice of wisdom, emotional clarity, and unwavering truth, this book is a powerful social commentary and an intimate tribute.

In addition to its emotional intelligence, Pryor's writing is also fluid and graceful. He interweaves his own reflections with the letters of his grandmother, a woman whose quiet strength and courage serve as the emotional foundation of the narrative. Between the present and the past, he seamlessly transitions. The prose is neither ornamental nor sparse; it achieves a precise equilibrium that enables the emotional impact of the content to be revealed without the need for distraction.

At its core, the book explores themes of generational trauma, perseverance, and the shaping of selfhood in the context of systemic injustice. Rather than attempting to obscure the complexities of race in the United States, Pryor assesses them from the perspective of legacy, which includes what is transmitted, what is perpetuated, and what can be altered. In addition to serving as historical artifacts, the grandmother's letters also contain the hard-earned wisdom, hope, and lived experience of the individual. Together, they provide a guide to self-understanding and healing for both Pryor and readers who are grappling with their own questions of identity and belonging.

What makes this work especially moving is its capacity to connect the personal to the political without ever losing its tenderness. Pryor simultaneously motivates the reader to confront the past with candor and provides the chance to develop personally and with grace. It is a read that is ultimately reflective, redemptive, and occasionally raw. It fosters empathy, dialogue, and a more profound understanding.

This book is of enduring relevance in a time when discussions regarding intergenerational healing, equity, and race are both urgent and necessary. Conversely, it is a timeless narrative that explores the themes of personal development, memory, and family.

About the Author

Walter Pryor

Walter Pryor is a son of the South, the Black Church, and a strong family unit of resilient, formidable women.  He is a cum laude graduate of Hendrix College, the only Black student in the college’s history to have been awarded the President's Medal, and a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. His professional career has spanned a myriad of sectors in the legal arena, having worked in both large and small law firms, the U.S. Department of Justice, Capitol Hill, corporations, and higher education.  He is passionate about education and has devoted a significant amount of time to volunteer work in that space. Pryor currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Hendrix College as vice chair and the Board of Directors of the Washington Children's Foundation. 

He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Latin School of Chicago, the Board of Directors of Legal Prep Charter Academies in Chicago, and the Board of Trustees of National Collegiate Preparatory Public Charter High School in Washington, D.C. He and his wife Juliette have two adult children, Adjua and Wade Osei, and divide their time between Chicago, Charlotte, and Martha’s Vineyard. This Leaves Me Okay (Heliotrope Books, 2025) is his first book.