Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Safe cover art

Safe

By: Derek Owusu
Narrated by: Alex Holmes, Alex Wheatle, Aniefiok ‘Neef’ Ekpoudom, Courttia Newland, Derek Owusu, Gbontwi Anyetei, Jesse Bernard, JJ Bola, Joseph Harker, Jude Yawson, Kenechukwu Obienu, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Nels Abbey, Okechukwu Nzelu, full cast
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Think Like a White Man cover art
The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism cover art
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching cover art
Between the World and Me cover art
That Moment When cover art
I Heard What You Said cover art
Beyond Veiled Cliches cover art
The Islamic Republic of Australia cover art
How I Resist cover art
Muslim Girl cover art
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race cover art
Black British Lives Matter cover art
Back to Black cover art
Looking for Lorraine cover art
Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race cover art
If I Could Tell You Just One Thing cover art

Summary

What is the experience of black men in Britain? With continued conversation around British identity, racism and diversity, there is no better time to explore this question and give black British men a platform to answer it. Safe: On Black British Men Reclaiming Space is that platform. Including essays from top poets, writers, musicians, actors and journalists, this timely and accessible book brings together a selection of powerful reflections exploring the black British male experience and what it really means to reclaim and hold space in the landscape of our society.

Where do black men belong in school, in the media, in their own families, in the conversation about mental health, in the LGBT community, in grime music - and how can these voices inspire, educate and add to the dialogue of diversity already taking place? Following on from discussions raised by The Good Immigrant and Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, this collection takes listeners on a rich and varied path to confront and question the position of black men in Britain today and shines a light on the way forward.

Contributors include poet Suli Breaks, award-winning author Alex Wheatle, Channel 4 news reporter Symeon Brown, Guardian journalist Joseph Harker and many more.

Read by Derek Owusu, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Gbontwi Anyetei, Kenechukwu Obienu, Derek Oppong, Jude Yawson, Nels Abbey, Symeon Brown, Stephen Morrison-Burke, Okechukwu Nzelu, Robyn Travis, Aniefiok ‘Neef’ Ekpoudom, Joseph Harker, JJ Bola, Jesse Bernard, Courttia Newland, Alex Wheatle, Alex Holmes and Yomi Sode.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

The full list of additional narrators includes:

Alex Holmes, Alex Wheatle, Aniefiok ‘Neef’ Ekpoudom, Courttia Newland, Derek Owusu, Gbontwi Anyetei, Jesse Bernard, JJ Bola, Joseph Harker, Jude Yawson, Kenechukwu Obienu, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Nels Abbey, Okechukwu Nzelu, Robyn Travis, Stephen Morrison-Burke, Suli Breaks, Symeon Brown, Yomi Sode.

©2019 Derek Owusu (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group Ltd

More from the same

Narrator

What listeners say about Safe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    42
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

a revealing tale

I really enjoyed this collection of experiences. perhaps by the subject matter it was bound to express the injustice experienced . whenever that happens I can't help generalizing to the experience of the many. The working class, Gay, female, or any of the disparate experiences of individuals who find themselves alone. But thank you to the writers for sharing their story and enlightening me on the struggle of growing up black in our culture.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic book

I don’t normally listen to audiobooks but this was definitely a good choice. It felt so intimate to be able to hear each man tell their own story, I loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Informative

A series of interesting and informative essays which helped make sense of my life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Will take some time but worth the time

Safe is a journey through the black British male experience. It affords you so much range and some deep vulnerability. Not all the writers voices flow in a way that’s easy to listen to but that’s very much ok because it’s a beautiful thing to hear the array of black male voices(literally) and their stories! So like I said will take some time but worth the time 🧡

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not a stereotype

The voice of typical British black males are so unheard by those who are not typical British black males. This book is a curious listen-in to intelligent voices that although speaking, are often drown out by the loud attention-seeking stereotypical blend of Afro-American, gang, and "rap/grime" cultures.

This collection of essays explore first hand accounts of such subjects as: The purpose of a name, micro-agressions, and being adopted by a white family, etc. Worth the read/listen. would love to know if there is a British black female version of this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen especially during the BLM movement

Thought provoking book. As a young black man myself, it's interesting to hear similar experiences of other black people within the UK and to spread wider awareness of micro aggressions, stereotypes etc that we face regularly to the wider public. These experiences should form part of a wider dialogue for things to change for the better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing! Just what the Literature world needs- more black, male voices!

I loved this book. I have it in hardback too and downloaded the audio for holiday.

Needless to say, I learnt A LOT and have gained a new perspective. I’ve been sharing the stories and ideas raised with my friends and family, which has ignited much debate.

A MUST READ!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So so so nourishing

Absolutely loved the different tales from this anthropology. I have a few faves, but overall such a great listen. So nourishing. So healing. So informative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!