We're delighted to host Jodi-Ann Burey at H&H Books to celebrate Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 PM.

Jodi-Ann will be joined in conversation by Philly-based writer Joseph Earl Thomas. A Q&A and book signing will follow their discussion. Copies of both authors’ books will be for sale at the event. Registration (pay-what-you-can) is highly recommended! Proceeds from this event will go towards Jodi-Ann’s travel expenses.

Questions? Email events@theheadandthehand.com, and follow @theheadandthehand on Instagram for events, book clubs, updates, and more.

Read on for more information about Authentic and about our authors.

About Authentic:

Workplace dynamics in recent years have been a dizzying storm of broken promises. Companies that once encouraged employees to “come as you are” are now shutting down initiatives, part of an ongoing cycle of trading on our identities when it’s convenient and profitable.

With insights from pop culture, academic research, and interviews with other professionals of color, Jodi-Ann Burey argues that we deserve better than shallow ploys for representation. Our physical and emotional health are at risk, and too much is sacrificed—for ourselves and for collective progress—when our full potential is blocked by racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. Authentic is a powerful reckoning—and now is the time to reclaim our agency. Even at work.

About the Authors: 

Jodi-Ann Burey (she/her) is a writer, critic, and sought-after speaker on race, culture, and health equity. She is the author of Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work. Her essays appear in various arts, business, and literary publications. Jodi-Ann created and hosts the prose and poetry salon and podcast Lit Lounge: The People’s Art. She was born in Jamaica, raised in New York City and currently lives in Seattle. Instagram: @jodiannburey

Joseph Earl Thomas is the author of the memoir Sink, a finalist for the William Saroyan International Writing Prize; the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize; and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach (Penguin Random House, 2027). His prose and poetry has been published in The Paris Review, The Verge, VQR, Harper’s, N+1, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere. His honors include the 2020 Chautauqua Janus Prize, The Anisfield-Wolf Fellowship in Writing and Publishing, and fellowships from The Miami Bookfair, Fulbright, and The Hermitage. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s MFA program in prose, he earned his PhD in English from The University of Pennsylvania. He teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and Literature courses at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Instagram: @jetvgc