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Mixed Up: An Irish Boy’s Journey to Belonging: An Irish Boy’s Journey to Belonging
A groundbreaking memoir about growing up mixed-race in Ireland, by the Irish Book Award-winning author and media personality Leon Diop.
Mixed-race experience in Ireland has never been described so honestly. Diop, a charismatic public figure and strong positive male role-model for young Irish people, tells his story from his first day as the only brown boy in school to his powerful recent experience reconnecting with his African roots in Senegal.
Growing up, Diop struggled with his identity, got into trouble, and lost his way, before turning his life around and finding his mission: helping Black and mixed-race Irish people tell their own stories. He founded Black & Irish and developed it into an advocacy group, a podcast with RTÉ, and an award-winning book (published by Little Island in 2023).
Now it is Diop’s turn to tell his own story, his journey from mixed-up kid to embracing his own identity, one that will inspire young Irish people and help counter dangerous political narratives in Ireland today.
Mixed-race experience in Ireland has never been described so honestly. Diop, a charismatic public figure and strong positive male role-model for young Irish people, tells his story from his first day as the only brown boy in school to his powerful recent experience reconnecting with his African roots in Senegal.
Growing up, Diop struggled with his identity, got into trouble, and lost his way, before turning his life around and finding his mission: helping Black and mixed-race Irish people tell their own stories. He founded Black & Irish and developed it into an advocacy group, a podcast with RTÉ, and an award-winning book (published by Little Island in 2023).
Now it is Diop’s turn to tell his own story, his journey from mixed-up kid to embracing his own identity, one that will inspire young Irish people and help counter dangerous political narratives in Ireland today.
- GenresYoung Adult
160 pages, Paperback
Published October 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 11, 2026
When I used to live in Ireland, I never met a single person who identified as “Black Irish,” and that was less than a decade ago. So the title immediately made me curious. Life can take mysterious turns, so anything is possible. And having experienced some racism myself — even though I’m White, I already felt sympathy for the author.
So what happened?
If I wanted to be cynical, I could sum it up this way: a Senegalese man traveled to the Canary Islands to bother tourists and locals — or, more politely, to make a living selling sunglasses. He spotted a lovely but naïve young Irish woman, and she fell in love. She loved him so much that she convinced her parents to work with the Irish embassy and the Spanish authorities to get him sent to Ireland, even though… he was in prison.
Yes, the man turned out to be a criminal, and this was neither his first nor his last encounter with prison. Spain wanted to deport him back to Senegal, but love is love, and it’s hard to anticipate future troubles, right? So he entered Ireland in handcuffs. It was 1994.
Fast forward a few years and three children later: it seems everyone is afraid of “Daddy,” the criminal and drug user. What’s more, his eldest son despises him. Daddy the troublemaker, caused havoc for his family — pardon, families, plural. He had two families at the same time: two wives and eight children altogether. Impressive efficiency, and apparently perfectly normal in Senegal.
Meanwhile, his Irish wife and children suffered deeply. That part is completely understandable.
After years of emotional turbulence, the author eventually came to terms with his personal circumstances and what he calls his Senegalese heritage. I’ll admit, this is the part I struggle to understand. From my perspective, all he inherited from his father was a set of genes.
Still, fair play — as the Irish say — to the author for his strength of character, for confronting his trauma, and for building a successful life. Well done.
However, to me this book is a perfect example of why immigration should be strictly limited, especially from countries so different culturally. Because at the end of the day, it's children who suffer the consequences.
So what happened?
If I wanted to be cynical, I could sum it up this way: a Senegalese man traveled to the Canary Islands to bother tourists and locals — or, more politely, to make a living selling sunglasses. He spotted a lovely but naïve young Irish woman, and she fell in love. She loved him so much that she convinced her parents to work with the Irish embassy and the Spanish authorities to get him sent to Ireland, even though… he was in prison.
Yes, the man turned out to be a criminal, and this was neither his first nor his last encounter with prison. Spain wanted to deport him back to Senegal, but love is love, and it’s hard to anticipate future troubles, right? So he entered Ireland in handcuffs. It was 1994.
Fast forward a few years and three children later: it seems everyone is afraid of “Daddy,” the criminal and drug user. What’s more, his eldest son despises him. Daddy the troublemaker, caused havoc for his family — pardon, families, plural. He had two families at the same time: two wives and eight children altogether. Impressive efficiency, and apparently perfectly normal in Senegal.
Meanwhile, his Irish wife and children suffered deeply. That part is completely understandable.
After years of emotional turbulence, the author eventually came to terms with his personal circumstances and what he calls his Senegalese heritage. I’ll admit, this is the part I struggle to understand. From my perspective, all he inherited from his father was a set of genes.
Still, fair play — as the Irish say — to the author for his strength of character, for confronting his trauma, and for building a successful life. Well done.
However, to me this book is a perfect example of why immigration should be strictly limited, especially from countries so different culturally. Because at the end of the day, it's children who suffer the consequences.
October 13, 2025
I received an eARC from the publisher in preparation for an interview with the author. This has not affected my opinions.
I am not a big memoir reader - if we ignore historical biographies (which serve a different function to those of people still alive or very recently deceased), then this is the third I've read in my life. I'm not sure why this is because they're fascinating insights into other people, be they public figures or not. Possibly because, despite the fact they are books put out there for public consumption, it can feel very intrusive at times, crawling into people's lives.
In spite of this voice in my head, MIXED UP is an engaging and deeply emotional memoir about a young, mixed-race man growing up in Ireland.
The book deals a lot with how Leon has dealt - or not - with his emotions over the years. Given how often it is presented as "manly" not to be all "emotional", I really appreciated how honest Leon was about the various problems with how he handled strong emotions over his childhood. It pushes back at the toxic narratives around how "being strong" is often said to mean not being emotional.
Likewise, he also explores how important being kind is to being strong. The line that sums it up is "hard outside, soft inside". This lesson is one that is in particular contrast to a society that idolises and often demands physical strength in men.
The ending was particularly emotional, I found. The last chapter is Leon talking to his younger self at five points in his life. It's full of encouragement and love for the trials his younger self was going through - and lessons he wished he'd known then. It's very raw and very honest, and makes you wonder what you'd like to tell a younger version of yourself.
I am not a big memoir reader - if we ignore historical biographies (which serve a different function to those of people still alive or very recently deceased), then this is the third I've read in my life. I'm not sure why this is because they're fascinating insights into other people, be they public figures or not. Possibly because, despite the fact they are books put out there for public consumption, it can feel very intrusive at times, crawling into people's lives.
In spite of this voice in my head, MIXED UP is an engaging and deeply emotional memoir about a young, mixed-race man growing up in Ireland.
The book deals a lot with how Leon has dealt - or not - with his emotions over the years. Given how often it is presented as "manly" not to be all "emotional", I really appreciated how honest Leon was about the various problems with how he handled strong emotions over his childhood. It pushes back at the toxic narratives around how "being strong" is often said to mean not being emotional.
Likewise, he also explores how important being kind is to being strong. The line that sums it up is "hard outside, soft inside". This lesson is one that is in particular contrast to a society that idolises and often demands physical strength in men.
The ending was particularly emotional, I found. The last chapter is Leon talking to his younger self at five points in his life. It's full of encouragement and love for the trials his younger self was going through - and lessons he wished he'd known then. It's very raw and very honest, and makes you wonder what you'd like to tell a younger version of yourself.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a slice of life memoir with short vignettes going from toddler to age 27, approximately. Leon Diop is quite young for a memoirist. The Obama Foundation honouree has struggled with racism in Ireland, a sometimes absent African father (the Obama similarities abound), and a wayward path, interrupted just in time.
This is a short book (160 pages) and it was a quick read. There are funny moments and Leon Diop has the "aw shucks" naïveté that is cute but sometimes fails the stress test of intellectual acumen with regards to race, ethnicity, nationality, and the difference between all three.
The most interesting part for me was his attempt to connect with his father's family in Africa. Diop and his travel companion stay in a hotel, not with the commoners. His view of the local culture seems surface-level. Perhaps that's all he could absorb on his first foray. Diop's visit to the slave tourist site reads like a white person would have written it--with empathy but no visceral emotional reaction. I don't know what I was expecting, but I found it interesting to see the perspective of a biracial man who has no enslaved descendants. That perspective is too rare and that alone makes this a stand-out memoir for me.
I hope Leon Diop evolves on race, nationality, and his African heritage once he clocks more miles on the Continent and more hair on his chest. If this memoir is any indication, he will have even more stories to tell in 20+ years.
[I received a free copy that had no photos in it, in exchange for an honest review]
This is a short book (160 pages) and it was a quick read. There are funny moments and Leon Diop has the "aw shucks" naïveté that is cute but sometimes fails the stress test of intellectual acumen with regards to race, ethnicity, nationality, and the difference between all three.
The most interesting part for me was his attempt to connect with his father's family in Africa. Diop and his travel companion stay in a hotel, not with the commoners. His view of the local culture seems surface-level. Perhaps that's all he could absorb on his first foray. Diop's visit to the slave tourist site reads like a white person would have written it--with empathy but no visceral emotional reaction. I don't know what I was expecting, but I found it interesting to see the perspective of a biracial man who has no enslaved descendants. That perspective is too rare and that alone makes this a stand-out memoir for me.
I hope Leon Diop evolves on race, nationality, and his African heritage once he clocks more miles on the Continent and more hair on his chest. If this memoir is any indication, he will have even more stories to tell in 20+ years.
[I received a free copy that had no photos in it, in exchange for an honest review]
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2025
Leon’s memoir is a pacy, no holds barred account of growing up mixed-race in Ireland and the journey of self-acceptance and personal understanding that entailed whilst encountering prejudice and the places it took him along the way.
It was a genuinely fascinating read and I found myself looking at his academic career and thinking this kid definitely has ADHD on top of everything else. The journey he went through that led through his university career, almost crashing out hauling himself back rising to president of the student union, taking on the transport authority along with the overt and microagressions he found that led to the founding of Black and Irish whilst highlight just how far western society still has to come in terms of race is incredibly moving and challenging.
His family life is no less moving, despite the chaos and the hurt that marked his early childhood, the incredible bond he has with his Irish family and the connections he goes on to forge with his African family are so uplifting and have lessons to teach us about our own prejudices and preconceived notions.
This is a really enjoyable book and fantastic for making one consider ones own privilege.
January 26, 2026
I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I’d give this a 3/3.5 stars I think, as I had moments where I thought it was really good but at other points, it could’ve been slicker especially considering it was a short book (approx. 160 pages).
I was drawn to the book being mixed race myself, though the writer is male and a lot younger than me, so I was intrigued to hear his experience particularly growing up in Ireland.
This memoir is told almost in a short story format and we learn about his upbringing in Ireland, his family life and grief, his experiences of discrimination and prejudice, and the examples of racism and micro aggressions he faced, along with his struggles to understand his sense of belonging and identity. We also learn about his anger issues and realising he has adhd.
Overall, it was an interesting and insightful read but it just felt it was lacking that bit of oomph and spark.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for this review.
I’d give this a 3/3.5 stars I think, as I had moments where I thought it was really good but at other points, it could’ve been slicker especially considering it was a short book (approx. 160 pages).
I was drawn to the book being mixed race myself, though the writer is male and a lot younger than me, so I was intrigued to hear his experience particularly growing up in Ireland.
This memoir is told almost in a short story format and we learn about his upbringing in Ireland, his family life and grief, his experiences of discrimination and prejudice, and the examples of racism and micro aggressions he faced, along with his struggles to understand his sense of belonging and identity. We also learn about his anger issues and realising he has adhd.
Overall, it was an interesting and insightful read but it just felt it was lacking that bit of oomph and spark.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for this review.
March 17, 2026
I haven’t been on NetGalley much to notice their rules so I didn’t know I had to finish this book in 30 days 🫠. What should’ve been easy given this book is under 200 pages turned out to be much harder given a memoir wasn’t really what I wanted to read in the moment. The premise and theme were good and I would definitely read more books about racism and its effects on people who are mixed too but I don’t think I can read any more memoirs.
The story being set in Ireland was intriguing because I haven’t read much from there especially given the author is non-white. It’s hard to say that I wasn’t really interested in the story when it’s based off a real life person’s experience but nothing about it really stood out to me. I don’t see why there had to be a book written about the author’s experience.
The story being set in Ireland was intriguing because I haven’t read much from there especially given the author is non-white. It’s hard to say that I wasn’t really interested in the story when it’s based off a real life person’s experience but nothing about it really stood out to me. I don’t see why there had to be a book written about the author’s experience.
May 3, 2026
I received an early copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Little Island Books. It's a short book, but it packs a real punch as an honest, engaging memoir that held my attention throughout. I don't read many books set in Ireland, so that alone made it a refreshing read, but what kept me turning pages was Leon's unflinching look at his own life and the obstacles he navigated along the way. That ending especially got to me. The vulnerability he allows himself there caught me completely off guard. I won't lie, I got a little choked up.
November 26, 2025
Mixed Up is a fast paced, informative memoir about being mixed-race in Ireland and his personal journey surrounding that. Taking you from birth to his current life, I enjoyed learning more on a subject that I had previously not touched upon.
Being in chronological order really helped the flow of the book. At times I found it hard to put down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers and authors for access to this book.
Being in chronological order really helped the flow of the book. At times I found it hard to put down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers and authors for access to this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
emotional and really well-written memoir about emotions and growth, as well as handling racism in your community. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews