About the Book:
A groundbreaking memoir about growing up mixed-race in Ireland, by the Irish Book Award-winning author and media personality Leon Diop.
Mixed-race experience in Ireland has never been described so honestly. Leon Diop, a charismatic public figure and strong positive male role-model for young Irish people, tells his story from his first day as the only brown boy in school to his powerful recent experience reconnecting with hi African roots in Senegal.
Find this book on Goodreads. Find this book on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link.)
About the Author:
Leon Diop is a 28-year-old mixed-race man from Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland. Born to an Irish mother and a Senegalese father, he grew up in a mixed ethnic and religious household. He studied Psychology in Maynooth University where he served two years as Students’ Union President. He is the founder of Black and Irish, an organisation striving to transform Ireland into a global leader in equality and inclusion. He is a host of the Black and Irish podcast with Irish national broadcaster, RTÉ. He currently serves on the boards of the Childhood Development Initiative, and Tallaght and South Dublin County Partnership.
Interview:
This is the second book you have written, the first being BLACK AND IRISH, a collection of stories from the Black Irish community. Was there anything you learnt from the process of creating that first book that helped you with this one? Anything that was so different you had to “unlearn” it for this book?
I learned so much from writing my first book that I took into this one. Firstly, being organised. Taking the time to plan out the book and really think it through, then approaching in a structured way really helped. It’s fair to say I didn’t do this with the first book. Secondly, not procrastinating. Procrastination is something I did while writing the first book. My part of the first book was written after a long time putting it off and ultimately I pulled it together in three weeks! It was the stuff of nightmares. That was after having had a year to do it. So with this book I took the time to approach each section carefully and gave it the time it deserved.
Memoirs require looking back on one’s life with a frank eye. Did writing this book change your perspective on any of these events?
It certainly wasn’t easy. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much and cried so much while writing something. Looking back for me was tough at the time but it was really cathartic in the end. I feel like it helped me and my mam to revisit different situations we were in and heal from it. Some of the events got new information after speaking to my family about it more. I remembered the Terminator incident so vividly, what I didn’t know was that my dad asked for a lend of money off my grandad before leaving us. Things like that. I also learned about my beloved dog Rascal and the true reason she needed to leave, or more so, the true reason Renee tailwagger (a true antagonist) needed to be brought into my home. Writing this memoir changed my perspective so much on different things.
You often present events through a facts-first approach, laying out what happened before exploring the emotional impact. It’s a very open and inclusive approach and often means that, though this is your story, you’re not centring yourself – instead asking the reader to consider why different people are reacting as they do. How deliberate was this approach? Was it something you layered in during edits?
This is an interesting question. Yes it’s intentional. I want to show the reader that different people react in different ways, at different times in their lives and in different contexts. A part of me really wants the reader to take a step back and understand that emotions and reactions are not straight forward. Through seeing my story, I ultimately want the reader to build a sense of understanding and belonging with themself and with others. This is not an easy thing to do, but it’s what we all need to do.
MIXED UP is a YA memoir. This is an age group who is most used to learning about other people’s lives through social media. Did this have any impact on how you wrote the book?
It’s true, most people learn about the lives of others through TikTok and Snapchat and Instagram etc. It’s never been easier to get all the goss and info on someone. Yet, at the same time, we’ve never been more disconnected. I want to give something to the reader that they can relate to. That they can take some time with and try to understand. Watching a parent struggle and feeling helpless at times. Feeling excluded. Being completely lost and not knowing where to turn to. These are things that are part of many of our stories but are ones we tend not to discuss as much as we should. Social media often creates feelings of jealousy of other people’s lives. I don’t want this book to do that. I want this book to help people begin to connect with their own story and use that to empower themselves.
You reflect often on how you managed your emotions as a child and teen. Why do you think we need to be so raw and honest about this with teenagers, exploring both the good and bad?
It’s so important that teenagers understand that their emotions can be unpredictable at times. Things like envy, anger, sadness, pride and happiness can come out in different ways. I want to show the reader that at times they will suppress how they’re feeling when it’s better to let it out. At times they will let their emotions out when it may have been better for them to sit with them. By showing how I did it and absolutely didn’t do it at times, I want to normalise emotional regulation being a journey too. I also know that everyone has embarrassing moments and it can live with them forever, but really, these things are often forgotten about quickly by everyone else.
You end the book talking to your younger self at various points throughout your life, telling younger you lessons and encouragement you wish you’d had then. What’s something you hope all your teen readers will take away from this book?
I hope all teen readers will take this one thing away. It doesn’t matter what you look like, what religion you are, what gender you are, how you express yourself, who you love or what you do. You belong. You belong to yourself and once you’re happy with who you are, then no one can take that away from you. People may try, but once you tell yourself that you belong, you’ve won. People who try to make others feel like they don’t belong, often don’t feel that belonging themselves. So focus on you, focus on what you like to do and live your life. Who knows how much you being the full you might help others!
Please recommend a UKYA read you think readers will enjoy.
Braids Take a Day – Zainab Boladale* – An interesting story that is rich with great story telling. A coming-of-age classic
Thank you, Leon!
*Affiliate link
#UKYASpotlight 
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