Inspired by Common’s chilling story of abuse as a child, many men speak up

In his new book titled Let Love Have the Last Word, award-winning rapper and actor Lonnie Corant Lynn, commonly known as Common opens up about very sensitive topics such as love, therapy and a sexual abuse experience he has kept under the wraps for several years.

The 47-year-old Grammy and Oscar-winning entertainer uses his story and experience to challenge toxic masculinity that makes it hard for men to speak of pain and fear due to societal expectations.

In the book released in May, Common narrates his sexual abuse experience that happened at age 9 or 10 during a family trip to Cleveland when he had to share a bed with his godbrother’s relative, whom he refers to as “Brandon.” This left him feeling a deep sense of shame and fear throughout his life.

A few hours after the release of his book, Common took to Twitter to explain why he decided to speak out about the incident which he had somehow managed to block out of his memory until a few years ago.

The rapper has been widely applauded for his new book and being open about an incident many men have experienced but have kept under wraps for so many. He has gotten many more men speaking out on social media.

The rapper, actor and now writer has been doing several media rounds talking about his memoir which has been widely accepted as it is selling in huge numbers since its release.