Aug 25, 2016

Mistakes Will Be Made: An Introduction

Stories in Black and White

The book Mistakes Will Be Made is co-written by a white woman from Oregon and a black man from New York City. They compare their lives in a powerful account of their attempt to find success in an America — a culture that still struggles to normalize relationships between races and sexes.

Mistakes Will Be Made is a deeply personal, vulnerable, and searing account from two people whose stories illustrate that America has made significant strides toward a more egalitarian society, while also showcasing the subtle and pervasive habits modern Americans still practice that keep us from becoming a truly integrated, successful culture for all who live here.

Co-authors Christy King and Rhett Butler met at work and became friends while traveling with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Many conversations later they realized their utterly opposite life experiences shed an interesting light on America’s struggle to reach the next phase of racial integration and gender neutrality.

Christy was a bright and wild child, but she couldn’t sit still, making mistake after mistake, out of sheer boredom. As she tells the funny and cringe-worthy tales of her choices and consequences, it is almost miraculous that she eventually rose through the ranks in media businesses as a technology leader. She managed to reach the C-suite despite having only a high school diploma, a felony record, and zero interest in doing things how they are supposed to be done. While she secretly enjoys never having to wait for the women’s restroom at technology conferences, she truly longs for the day when her LinkedIn profile prompts fellow technology explorers to seek her counsel as a media technology thought leader, rather than because she is the rare woman in the field.

Rhett came into this world given an iconic — and ironic — name. Growing up in the public housing projects of Harlem and the Bronx, he was also bright and wild, surrounded by a neighborhood full of people who seemed almost afraid to escape their poverty. Rhett’s mother knew she could not allow her black son to be saddled with a record of youthful mistakes, as the consequences would cost far more than he could afford to pay.

Rhett made it through the gauntlet of youth to become a professional journalist who has also successfully run businesses that spawned from his many outside interests. A Howard University graduate, Rhett learned early that he had to follow the American rulebook for success to thrive, but eventually realized that those rules often leave an aftertaste that is tough for a black man to swallow.

A deeply funny and moving memoir of modern life in America, Mistakes Will Be Made is a wonderfully vulnerable story of two people that show us we are all better off when we simply talk to each other.

Email kingbutlerauthors@gmail.com to be notified when Mistakes Will Be Made is available for purchase.