Queer Eye fans unite! Karamo Brown announced on Instagram yesterday that he has co-authored a children’s book called I Am Perfectly Designed with his son Jason “Rachel” Brown.
Karamo might be best known as the cultural ambassador of Netflix’s Queer Eye, where he helps heroes — the person or people being made over on each episode — be more sympathetic and socially conscious versions of themselves, but the sweet-talking, bomber-jacket-wearing guru might have found a new passion in kid lit.
Karamo said on Instagram that he hopes his book — whose cover bears a charming caricature of Karamo and his son — will “empower everyone to love who they are, exactly as they are!” The father and son communicate this message as they walk through a diverse city and wonder at all the ways in which they are “perfectly designed” for each other — even if theirs is not a typical American family.
No stranger to the connotations of and questions surrounding a “typical” American family, Karamo clearly drew from his own real-life experiences. Jason was 10 when he first met his father, and both have worked hard to foster a relationship since then. Karamo adopted his son’s half-brother as well, and lives with his fiancé, a white man, in Los Angeles.
This isn’t even Karamo’s first book this year. In March, the reality TV star published a memoir detailing the ups and downs of his personal life, his journey from MTV to Netflix, and the adversity he has faced as a gay black man in America — all of which informs his work on the show.
The children’s book will likely hit home with existing Queer Eye fans in addition to attracting new readers, because it’s hard to resist a platform that preaches self-care and empathy.
I Am Perfectly Designed is illustrated by graphic artist Anoosha Syed and will be published by Macmillan on November 5th of this year. Pre-order your copy here.
Featured Image Via LA Magazine.