Actress Gabrielle Union is ready to “serve up fresh realness” with her second memoir “You Got Anything Stronger,” including the heartbreaking realities of becoming a mother.
For two years Union has given fans a glimpse into precious moments shared between her and daughter Kaavia James, nicknamed the “Shady Baby,” on social media. She has also been somewhat of an open book when it comes to her infertility diagnosis as well as the journey of surrogacy used to bring her and husband Dwyane Wade’s only child together into the world. In her new book, Union takes things a step further by holding nothing back when detailing her heartbreak.
“I would have sold my soul to get out of the endless cycle of loss. What was the going rate for souls? What was mine worth, anyway?” she writes in an excerpt of memoir that serves as a follow-up to her 2017 bestseller “We’re Going to Need More Wine.”
Prior to choosing surrogacy, Union has stated she endured more miscarriages than she can count during several rounds of IVF. She had even endured the reality of Wade — who was not her husband at the time — having a child with another woman during a contentions period in their relationship. Bouncing back from both left Union questioning what all she must endure, give up, and accept to finally experience a healthy and full-term pregnancy.
“The experience of Dwyane having a baby so easily—while I was unable to—left my soul not just broken into pieces, but shattered into fine dust scattering in the wind,” she continued. “We gathered what we could to slowly remake me into something new. There was no way to disguise where I’d been glued back together.”
Those cracks showed even more when the couple met their surrogate, a white woman named Nicole, who would successfully go on to carry Kaavia to term.
“This growing bump that everyone thought I wanted to see was now a visual manifestation of my failure. I smiled, wanting to show I—we—were so happy and grateful. But part of me felt more worthless,” wrote the “Bring It On” actress.
Union being a public figure of her own merit, and even more so by proxy as the wife of a former NBA superstar, has made her no-holds-barred approach to sharing a shock to some. But for Union, every overshare has been rooted in the intention of helping another woman.
“A lot of us feel like we are drowning in plain sight and people are walking by us holding life preservers, watching us drown,” she told the hosts of “Good Morning America” on Sept. 13. “With this book, I want to say, ‘I see you. Here’s a life preserver. We can, together, save ourselves.’”
Her message is heard loud and clear.
“I treasure @itsgrabrielleu She deserves all the things 🙏🏽”
“What fortitude and grace in sharing such a painful season with transparency & vulnerability. It will certainly help others sis. It will.”
