Press Release
Widely Respected Authors and Moms Helen Lee and Michelle Ami Reyes Equip Families to Raise Children Who Will Treat All People Respectfully The Race-Wise Family Offers an Opportunity for All Households to Become Places of Healing and Hope
“In
The Race-Wise Family, Helen Lee and Michelle Reyes relieve some of the pressure from adults who wonder where and how to lead their families in racial justice. This book is as tender as it is helpful. If families across the nation implemented even a fraction of what the authors suggest in
The Race-Wise Family, we would see generational transformation.”
—Jemar Tisby, PhD, New York Times bestselling author ofThe Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism Never before has the topic of race been such a pressing conversation within American households. Christian parents need to be equipped with a biblical foundation for how to raise race-wise children who will treat all people equally and respectfully.
Authors Helen Lee (Korean American) and Michelle Ami Reyes (Indian American) are both moms who have been actively speaking and writing on the issues of faith and ethnicity, race and justice for many years. Both Lee and Reyes and their families have endured racial bullying and stereotypes, but they have been actively training their children to respond in God-honoring ways against racial injustice and inequity as part of their Christian witness and discipleship.
Now, in
The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope (WaterBrook; 5/17/22), they openly share their own parenting journeys and how they have had an impact on their understanding of race, specifically as Asian American Christian women. They walk Christian parents through ten distinct postures of the heart to raise kingdom-minded children who love God and love their neighbors with all their hearts, minds and bodies.
Together, Lee and Reyes expertly combine their biblically-informed insights to inspire and equip readers on topics including:
• Understanding a biblical theology on race and why we need to value multiethnicity.
• The importance of not saying racially harmful words and how to use positive, biblical language.
• The biblical benefits of seeing color: “We were created to live in the fullness of our identity in Christ, and this includes who we are as cultural image bearers,” Lee and Reyes write.
• How parents can engage in practices to cultivate empathy, compassion as well as discussion questions, prayers, and conversation starters for families to work through together.
• Helpful and age-appropriate practices for discussing and responding to current events with kids and teens and understanding the place and purpose of biblical lament in the family
Additionally, Lee and Reyes offer guidance for addressing the roots of racial bias in the world and within readers’ own lives through their own Multiethnicity Quotient (TM), a simple tool they created to help readers better understand where their own biases and assumptions can come from, and what areas in their lives might require some intentional action in order for them to flourish in their journey to be race-wise.
The Race-Wise Family was written for all Christian families but the authors also include a special chapter for families of color that explores “safe places” where family members can openly acknowledge and process everything from racial tragedies to the racially motivated microaggressions they regularly experience.
The book features a list of helpful definitions of relevant terms, a media guide for parents, activities and resources families can use to be active in their communities, and a list of additional resources for further learning.
“The goal of a race-wise family is not simply to grow in intellectual understanding of the Bible’s discussions about race and culture but rather to pursue a biblical vision of human flourishing in the home, the community, and the nation,” Lee and Reyes write in the introduction. “By the time you finish this book, you will be able to see the richness, beauty, and depth of God’s intent for people of every ethnicity, culture, and language flourishing together as well as how this vision should impact your family’s daily conversations and routines.”
No matter where parents and families are on their journey toward racial awareness,
The Race-Wise Family will give parents the practical tools they need to raise children who can confidently engage with today’s challenges of race and culture and become change agents of hope and healing.
“The authors’ down-to-earth approach prioritizes practicality, lending the recommendations a specificity that parents will appreciate (five appendices include family-friendly media suggestions and a kid-friendly glossary to explain racism). This is a thoughtful volume on raising Christian, anti-racist children.” –
Publishers Weekly ABOUT THE AUTHORSHELEN LEE is the co-author of
The Race-Wise Family and the director of product innovation at InterVarsity Press. Helen is a conference speaker and award-winning writer who often covers issues of race, ethnicity, and identity in her articles in
Christianity Today and other publications. She’s also the author of
The Missional Mom and
Growing Healthy Asian American Churches. Helen and her husband have three teenage sons and live in Naperville, Illinois. Visit helenleebooks.com and @helenleebooks for more information.
MICHELLE AMI REYES, PhD, is the co-author of
The Race-Wise Family, vice president of Asian American Christian Collaborative and scholar in residence at Hope Community Church in Austin, Texas. She regularly speaks at events on faith, culture and justice and is the author of the ECPA award-winning
Becoming All Things. Her writings on faith and culture have appeared in
Christianity Today and Patheos and she’s appeared in
The Los Angeles Times, NPR, NBC News.com and Religion News Service. Michelle lives in Austin, Texas with her pastor husband, and two amazing kids. Visit
MichelleAmiReyes.com and @michelleamireyes for more information.
On-Sale: May 17, 2022Christianity & Culture / Family & RelationshipsISBN 97805993193952 • Paperback • 224 Pages • $17.00 US / $23.00 CANeBook ISBN 9780593193969 •
eBook $12.99 US / $13.99 CANMore Praise for The Race-Wise Family“These two godly, gifted, intelligent women have provided us with a map….I envision thousands of households and Bible studies reading The Race-Wise Family, being inspired, challenged, and equipped with practical tools to become agents of gospel-shaped racial reconciliation.
—From the foreword by Dr. Derwin L. Gray, cofounder and lead pastor of Transformation Church, a multiethnic, multigenerational community, and author of How to Heal Our Racial Divide“As parents we can become overwhelmed by the conversation on race, not knowing where to turn and which voices to trust. Helen Lee and Michelle Reyes are two leaders I know, trust, and respect. This book is a must-read for every parent seeking to learn, understand, and guide their families to engage in this critically important topic and time.”
—Vivian Mabuni, speaker, author of Open Hands, Willing Heart, and founder of Someday Is Here (podcast)
“Lee and Reyes are lovers of Jesus, people, and their families, and they offer a better way to help our children understand the complexities of racism and the hope we find in Scripture. With biblical clarity and practical advice, Lee and Reyes take the reader on a journey to a better place, whether the reader is from a minority or majority culture.”
—Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College “This is a landmark work for our generation!”
—Dorena Williamson, author, bridge builder, and speaker“Many young families have recently woken up to the deforming impact of our racialized society but are at a loss about how to prepare their children to pursue lives of harmony and justice. This book opens our imaginations to a holistic formation that will align our children (and the adults who love them) more closely with God’s heart for righteousness and reconciliation.”
—David W. Swanson, pastor and author of Rediscipling the White Church“Now more than ever, we are exiting the path of cultural disconnect and social disharmony and, by faith, running the race toward collective consonance and understanding. Though you know the direction you want to go, you may be unsure about the steps that make up a successful practice. In these pages, Lee and Reyes offer a harness to support you on your way to becoming conduits of healing and hope.”
—Lucretia Berry, PhD, creator of Brownicity, educator, author, TED speaker, and (in)courage contributor
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