Not Wanting a Thing to Be the Thing: An African American Woman Biblical Scholar's Stroke Memoir

By Mitzi J Smith

Not Wanting a Thing to Be the Thing is the first stroke memoir written by a Black woman biblical scholar. Smith's story is her mother's story, and it is not. It is the story of other stroke survivors, and it is not. It is a unique telling of the civil war that erupts in her body. It is a journey of not knowing, awareness, survival, fragmentation, discovery, and recovery. Smith's story is inspiring, amazing, brilliant, funny, thought-provoking, and revelatory. She has a gift for bringing her readers into each space to see what she sees and feel what she feels.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FFK7CZ7Y
• ISBN13: 9798385236428
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Mitzi Smith's stroke memoir is a stroke of genius!

I have read reviews which say that everyone should read the book. But everyone should NOT read this book. The only people that should read it are stroke survivors and their relatives and friends and acquaintances, pastors, chaplains, seminary students, physicians, medical students, eldercare workers, people who think that they might have a stroke sometime in the future, people who think that they will never ever ever have a stroke. That's all. Seriously, I loved the book, not just because I am mentioned in it and because Dr Smith is my former student and co-author. I loved it because it is a great book--not just a good book but a great book. Dr. Smith is an "observant" Christian, that is, she observes people and things and systems and then writes about them in ways that speak to a broad audience. Dr. Smith also is radically committed to social justice. It's not just something that she tags on the end of her discussions. It is the warp and woof of her perspective. Why are you still reading my review? Why haven't you gone and purchased the book yet? What are you waiting for? Peace, Rev Michael Willett Newheart, PhD