They Said This Would be Fun
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2020
WINNER OF THE RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
EVERGREEN AWARD FINALIST
A powerful, moving memoir about what it's like to be a student of colour on a predominantly white campus.
A booksmart kid from Toronto, Eternity Martis was excited to move away to Western University for her undergraduate degree. But as one of the few Black students there, she soon discovered that the campus experiences she'd seen in movies were far more complex in reality. Over the next four years, Eternity learned more about what someone like her brought out in other people than she did about herself. She was confronted by white students in blackface at parties, dealt with being the only person of colour in class and was tokenized by her romantic partners. She heard racial slurs in bars, on the street, and during lectures. And she gathered labels she never asked for: Abuse survivor. Token. Bad feminist. But, by graduation, she found an unshakeable sense of self--and a support network of other women of colour.
Using her award-winning reporting skills, Eternity connects her own experience to the systemic issues plaguing students today. It's a memoir of pain, but also resilience.
Winner of the Kobo Emerging Prize for Nonfiction
Finalist for the Evergreen Award
Globe and Mail Top 100 Best Books of the Year
Indigo Top 50 Best Books of the Year
Audible Best Audiobooks of the Year
Apple Best Audiobooks of the Year
CBC Best Books of 2020
Quill and Quire 2020 Books of the Year
Globe and Mail Bestseller
Toronto Star Bestseller
Vancouver Sun Bestseller
CBC Bestseller
The Hill Times 100 Best Books of 2020
Cityline Book Club Pick
Praise for They Said This Would Be Fun
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"An essential read."
—Globe and Mail
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"I wish I had been able to read Eternity Martis when I was an undergraduate. Astute, witty, and fiercely honest, They Said This Would Be Fun is required reading for anyone yearning for better institutions and relations of learning."
—David Chariandy, Governor General's Literary Award-winning author of Brother and I've Been Meaning to Tell You
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"A landmark among memoirs. . . . Martis, whose writing flows smoothly and deceptively calmly, has written a meticulous unravelling of her coming of age."
—Toronto Star
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"When I read this book I felt seen. The year I spent at Western University was one of my loneliest. I'd never felt so Black and female in my life. While Eternity's study of campus life for Black women is groundbreaking it is not at all foreign to Black students who seek higher education. It's a must read for every post-secondary student and educator."
—Tracy Moore, host of Cityline
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"The humour and introspection with which Martis writes about her difficult experiences make her first book a multi-dimensional read."
—Quill & Quire
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"[Martis] is so generous in her storytelling, so gifted in the way she sorts through her feelings, and her honesty is awe-inspiring. Her essays…stick with you for days after finishing them. . . . I can't say enough about the magnitude of this book, of the way it feels like she's sitting next to you, simply sharing her story."
—Anne T. Donahue, author of Nobody Cares: Essays
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"A testament to the transformative power of Black feminism."
—The Toronto Star
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"To say They Said This Would Be Fun is a timely read would do a disservice to its staying power. It's a book that should be required reading now and in the years to come. Fiercely honest, meticulously researched, and deeply personal, it is an excellent account of what it means to be a Black woman in a Canadian university-and a Black woman in Canada."
—The Literary Review of Canada
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"[Martis] breaks down her university experiences with tact and humour, weaving together the complicated dynamics of race with themes of self-discovery, systems of oppression, and relationships-all under an overarching feminist frame."
—Varsity
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"Martis writes boldly about her experience in this unique memoir that testifies how a support group of women of colour can change someone's personal narrative."
—NOW Magazine
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"Anyone working in postsecondary education should read [Martis's] memoir. You'll get a better, and sobering, understanding of what Black and Indigenous students experience day-in and day-out both on-campus and in the community."
—Jay Robb, Leaders are Readers
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"I'm angry to hear that Canadian universities are still ignoring and isolating young racialized women, decades after my own experiences there. But I'm very glad that [Martis's] brave, honest, and funny book will be there for students of the future—as well as for institutions whose leaders have the courage and decency to change."
—Denise Balkissoon, Executive Editor, Chatelaine
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“It’s rare for writers to change anyone’s mind. She changed mine.”
—Heather Mallick, Toronto Star
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“University is a time of major personal growth and excitement but also systemic, baked-in discrimination and inequity. This book is for anyone who is still making sense of it all but especially for those who need communion with a beautifully-written account of what it's like to finally find your people.”
—Hannah Sung
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"I'm angry to hear that Canadian universities are still ignoring and isolating young racialized women, decades after my own experiences there. But I'm very glad that Eternity's brave, honest and funny book will be there for students of the future - as well as for institutions whose leaders have the courage and decency to change."
—Denise Balkissoon, executive editor, Chatelaine
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"Following in the footsteps of writers like Roxane Gay and Scaachi Koul, but steadfastly providing her own distinctive voice, Martis’ book is at times shocking, powerful, surprisingly funny and most of all provides a seamless link between theoretical approaches to race and how it plays out in practice.”
—Minelle Mahtani, author of May it Have a Happy Ending
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"Part memoir, part survivor guide. . . . This book will pull you in, make you laugh, eat you up and leave you better than you were before."
—Téa Mutonji, 2020 Trillium Book Award-winning author of Shut Up You're Pretty
Media for They Said This Would Be Fun
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“Eternity Martis: Being Black in a White Place”
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“14 must-read books for spring 2020”
— NOW
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“5 Essential Books About Being Black In Canada, Today”
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“10 books we’re excited to read in 2020”
— NOW
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“Indie Booksellers Pick The 10 Best Books of 2020”
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“Eternity Martis’s memoir They Said This Would be Fun is a survival guide for token university students”
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“Canadian Eternity Martis's bestselling memoir They Said This Would Be Fun to be adapted to television”
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“The Western Front”
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“Winter books preview: 36 reads to get you through till spring”
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“Debut memoir by Eternity Martis is a testament to the transformative power of Black feminism”
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“It was a great year for books, if nothing else”
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“My favourite people of 2020”
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“Black Like She”
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“Eternity Martis never found the toga party she was looking for”
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“Memoir details a biracial student's experience with racism at an Ontario university campus”
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“Eternity Martis' best-selling memoir to be adapted on screen”
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“Eternity Martis explores Canadian university life through the lens of race, gender and privilege”
— CBC
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“5 Books About Race on College Campuses Every Student Should Read”
— Popsugar
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“11 essential books to read by Black Canadian authors”
— NOW
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“Eternity Martis reflects on the challenges of being a Black university student in her first book”
— CBC
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“20 moving Canadian memoirs to read right now”
— CBC
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“Six Canadian writers of Black heritage to watch in 2020”
— CBC
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“25 books about being Black in Canada”
— CBC
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“The CBC Books spring reading list: 40 great books to read this season”
— CBC
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“40 works of Canadian nonfiction to watch for in spring 2020”
— CBC
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“Author to instruct Ryerson University’s first-ever journalism course about reporting on the Black community”
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“University students gather virtually to tackle inclusion and anti-Black racism”
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“Documenting racism at Western”
— CBC London Morning
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“Part 3: Eternity Martis”
— CBC Ontario Morning
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“Eternity Martis on her memoir They Said This Would Be Fun”
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“Current and former university students discuss anti-Black racism on Canadian campuses”
— CBC
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“7 books by Black authors that deserve a permanent spot on your bookshelf”
— Narcity
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“Author and Xtra senior editor Eternity Martis on her memoir “They Said this Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life and Growing Up"
— CBC Here and Now
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“Eternity Martis reflects on the challenges of being a Black university student in her first book”
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“Eternity Martis explores Canadian university life through the lens of race, gender and privilege”
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“Episode 49...While Black with Eternity Martis”
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“Eternity Martis' memoir explores life as a Black student at Western”
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“'An essential book for allies': Eternity Martis on Race, Campus Life and Growing Up at a Canadian University”
— Ubyssey
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“Interview with RSJ alum Eternity Martis, author of ‘They Said This Would Be Fun’”
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“They Said This Would Be Fun: An Interview with Eternity Martis”
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“Western University grad shares experience with racism on campus”
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“Eternity Martis Talks Issues of College Culture in New Memoir”
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“10 Books by Black Authors in Toronto You Should Read Right Now”
— BlogTO
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“'An essential book for allies': Eternity Martis on Race, Campus Life and Growing Up at a Canadian University”
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“24 Canadian books to read during Women's History Month”
— CBC
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“18 Canadian books to read for Mental Health Week”
— CBC
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“24 Canadian books to read during Women's History Month”
— CBC