The author reflects on the history of the Romani people from a personal perspective . Her lived experience interspersed between historical information about the subject makes this an engaging and steady read about a people often subjected to speculation, myth and stereotype.

This felt like <i>How the Word is Passed</i> in the best ways. Drs. Potter and Smith are both steeped in the traditions of the humanities and bring their passion for words to the history of their people and the places where their people have lived and suffered. Both of them also narrate their own journeys in their audiobooks and listening not just to their words but also their feelings as they reread them is a privilege.

As an American who has lived in the UK, I've experienced the American cultural obsession with stereotypes of Roma culture, Americans' fear of being pickpocketed by Roma anytime they travel to Europe, and the ways in which Roma are portrayed in British media. While I was living in the West Midlands, Roma were facing English housing persecution and many news sources were far from unbiased in their coverage, while also questioning the Continent's treatment of Roma.

To many Americans, Potter's portrayal of the surface-level racism toward Roma throughout Europe may seem overblown, but it's just true. America has become so good at dog whistles that Americans are frequently surprised at how obvious prejudice and discrimination is in European life, even while we depend on it for our "travel warnings."

If you can, listen to Potter read her book to you. Revel in the power of her language, and learn how to pronounce some of it, and sit with the discomfort that happens when you hear a first-hand description of discrimination. Then probably go buy the physical copy, too. They're both worthwhile, but it'll be easier to read it again with her narrator voice in your ear.

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley.