This book opens with a heavy moment of racial stereotyping of an innocent black male as suspect, even criminal. Then it introduces us to that man’s life story. Hardly nefarious, author Tyler Merritt has overcome numerous challenges to embrace life today. With loads of humor and empathy, he lets readers know what it feels to be him. He is entangled at times with fame, but in the long run, he learns to be authentically himself.

His journey started in Las Vegas, Nevada. The son of a military father (Air Force) and a mother in banking, he found a calling in a magnet high school’s theater program. He also found a religious identity at a Christian youth camp. After that, it seems, life, with all its ups and downs, started to happen. He lived a creative life. Turning down a handful of full scholarships to attend a Bible college, he started a Christian rock band. After moving to Nashville, he realized that his band did not fit the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) market well. Messages of social and racial justice, though firmly rooted in the Christian Scriptures, did not play well in the conservative white communities that listened to CCM.

Merritt began to fill other roles, like a youth pastor, a dramatic voice for Sunday School lessons, a social media influencer, a YouTube videographer, an activist, and now, an author. He learned many lessons from these roles. These often-painful lessons spoke to some hard truths about American Christianity and about American culture more generally. Like it or not, people pigeon-holed him into being treated like a black man, not quite a full human being. He also found dark, contradictory corners of the world and does not hesitate to shine a light upon them. He made many eye-opening mistakes along the way, but he never refuses to take responsibility for them. He owns the shortcomings we all have.

Simply, Tyler Merritt is a human being, one of us. His background in theater brings along a compelling communication style. He helped me, a white man, understand black culture and mannerisms better. Even 60 years after Jim Crow was legally dismantled, too many social conventions of white supremacy need deconstructing. As someone who has spent much life among white people – and particularly white Christians – Merritt can speak hard truths that we need to hear.

Growing up in Southern Baptist Christianity, his story would be correctly categorized as a testimony, one with the chance to minister to us. Or to put things in non-churchy language, this memoir has the opportunity to invoke national healing. Anyone who reads this will laugh, maybe cry, be outraged, and experience every other human emotion along the way. In the long run, you will know better who this character is. He is proudly a black man, but at the end of this narrative, you’ll feel more deeply like you’ve found a new friend. ( )

The audiobook is awesome to listen to. If you like hearing peoples stories this is a great book about his personal story and perspectives on life. I thought it was a great listen. ( )

Tyler Merritt has a very engaging personality, and it comes through in his reading of his book. He shares a lot of good insights into what it is like to be Black in America, and his sincere hopes for change. However, the book sometimes feels a little too self-indulgent. Although I understand his desire to tell all, for me his confessions of his human failings are not as powerful as he tries to make them seem. ( )

Funny, affecting and at times, heart wrenching, "I Take My Coffee Black" is a great read. Merritt found viral fame when his video "Before You Call the Cops" caught fire on social media. This book shares more of Merritt's personal stories and experiences. This is not a book you can rush through--it's truly like sitting and having coffee with an old friend.

Merritt's heart, love for others and commitment to truth, along with an amazing sense of humor makes this book a great choice for social discussion with a group or just to give yourself some perspective. I loved it!

*There is some language in the book, fyi, but I didn't feel it was overwhelming. ( )

audio nonfiction/memoir+ history + social justice (funny, charismatic Black actor/musician/former church leader for youth/social activist)
I picked this up without knowing anything about Tyler, on a recommendation, and it was well worth the wait and deserving of all the praise. You may think you have next to nothing in common with Tyler but by the end you'll have a good idea of where he's coming from (and hopefully will be able to empathize). He really does lay it all out there, even the parts he's not proud of (especially the parts he's not proud of?) and in between light-hearted jokes and brilliant storytelling he'll layer in some powerful thoughts. The audio format is similar to a podcast, with non-distracting sound effects and a bonus informal chat at the end. ( )