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Journey Book Review 03 – Going Natural

I first became acquainted with “Going Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair“ a couple months after I first decided to go natural three years ago, but when I initially saw the original cover art I was almost immediately disinterested in reading the book for even educational purposes. I know it makes me sound a bit like a book snob (which to an extent I am *lol*) but the cover gave me the impression of low quality publishing, and unlike what happened with my initial reaction to “No Lye” by Tulani Kinard (which came years after I first saw Going Natural) I was not willing to not judge the book by its cover. Well time passed and we arrive at the year 2010 and while I was doing research totally unrelated to books I came across the revised cover and my attention was piqued.

Publisher/Author Side Note: Any publisher worth its weight in book revenues will tell you your book cover design is your most important marketing tool. While the old adage tell’s readers not to do it, most every reader makes their first assessment of your work based on what’s wrapped around it.

So with my interest struck I placed Drs. Mireille Liong-A-Kong‘s work on my must read list when my budget would allow it. Well as synchrodestiny would have it, I received an Email from Mireille inviting me to work for Going Natural Magazine and offered to send me a copy of the book for initial compensation. I heartily accepted and had the slim volume (a total of 120 pages) in my happy little hands a couple days later. Wanna talk about a blessing! I immediately cracked the sleek and attractive cover open and began reading almost as soon as I received it.

The book begins with an foreword by Patricia Gains, founder of Nappturality.com — one of Liong-A-Kong‘s early influences when deciding to go natural — which heralded “Going Natural” as serving “a wonderful purpose” by expressing “that this soul freeing experience is one that is also were felt by other Black women who for years have oppressed there hair and their minds into believe there was something ‘wrong’ with them.” All of that was a bit “heavy” for me since I didn’t “go natural” to free myself from any oppression. I merely couldn’t afford the touch up every four to six weeks. But that notwithstanding the foreword was sincere and well written and a testament to the comprehensiveness of the book. Following the foreword was a note by Mireille herself which outlined her personal experience and gave base to her reason for compiling this publication. After yo-yo’ing through her college years between perming and wearing braid extensions to “cure” the breakage caused by perms, Mireille made the choice to stop perming for good when she discovered a widening bald spot. She transitioned using her beloved braid extensions and saw her hair flourish to it’s former glory once again. Unfortunately, after being stood up by her regular braider and being unable to find a suitable replacement, Mireille once again found herself in the salon chair awaiting application of yet another perm. It was after this experience that Liong-A-Kong decided she’d learn as much as she could about natural hair and natural styling so she’d never be at the mercy of “creamy crack” again. And from the enlightenment she received from her research as well as styling trial and error, “Going Natural” was born.

Starting from the first chapter which advises readers of their transitioning choices and explains how to begin the journey with style goals, “Going Natural” goes through through each stage of the process using simple, everyday language and demonstrating amazing clarity. As is standard with publications of this nature, Liong-A-Kong provides basic information on hair types, information on how to pick proper styling tools and products, and style tutorials as well. But unlike its counterparts, “Going Natural” provides nine practically written chapters that are broken into sections which remove the overwhelming complexity often associated with the transitioning, proving it to be the perfect springboard for newbies who are unsure how to get started. In short, “Going Natural” does an excellent job of condensing all of the elements necessary to start the natural journey without leaving readers scratching their heads and more confused than when they first cracked the book open.

The best element about Mireille‘s book is, she leaves her personal story in the introductory note which allows the reader to focus on the nuts and bolts of transitioning. Each chapter and section provides “the facts” about cultivating a glorious head of natural hair as the author has come to understand them, allowing the reader to pick and choose what may work best with their set of circumstances and available resources. While it is great to be able to hear and relate to the author’s story, sprinkling too much of it throughout the publication can give the impression of the author forcing his or her ideals on you. Another eloquent aspect, although Liong-A-Kong makes references to the unique culture and heritage that serves as the foundation for Black hair, she steers clear of making the book “political” which again keeps the spotlight on the brass tacks of the topic at hand: understanding natural hair and what it takes to transition. This may be due to the fact that the author was born in South America and remained in the Netherlands after graduating from college there. Whatever the reason, this gives “Going Natural” a fresh perspective that is all about the hair.

I think you get the gist of my overall impression of Drs. Liong-A-Kong‘s freshman work. I LOVE it! While I peg this as a simple, uncomplicated publication, it’s is one that has the ability to engage newbies and veteran’s alike without boring them to tears or leaving them with the impression that they are missing something. Even after being natural for three years even I learned a few elements that I hadn’t uncovered before, like the actual breakdown in maintenance time between chemically treated hair and various natural styles. Another attribute of the book is it is so well organized you need not read the entire book from cover to cover to find the information you need, and the pictures used (primarily of the author’s own styles) are detailed and demonstrative of competent styling results. Economically priced at $10.98 on the Going-Natural.com Website and $10.26 on Amazon.com ($7.99 for the Kindle version), “Going Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair” should be an addition to every natural hair lovers library. If there were a college course on the topic, this should undoubtedly be the text used to conduct it.