Rajée Rajindra Narinesingh’s Beyond Face Value: A Journey to True Beauty is a profound exploration of identity, and a raw, unflinching confrontation with society’s obsession with outward appearance. From the very first pages, readers are drawn into Rajée’s world, a life marked by struggle, rejection, and, ultimately, self-discovery. Her story challenges the notion that beauty can be measured solely by the face in the mirror. As she herself reflects, no matter how many mirrors we gaze into, we cannot truly see ourselves as the world does. The journey of understanding and embracing this truth forms the beating heart of her narrative.
Born in Brooklyn on April 7, 1967, to a richly multicultural family, Rajée’s early years were imbued with complexity and contrast. Her father was Indo-Trinidadian, her mother a mix of French, Afro-Trinidadian, and Polynesian ancestry, giving her an identity that was neither easily categorized nor fully accepted by others. From the start, she carried the weight of cultural tension and social expectation, a microcosm of the wider racial and ethnic dynamics of her native Trinidad and of America in the 1970s and 80s. Her childhood was a blend of warmth, heritage, and the harsh realities of being different. She learned early the meaning of resilience, whether in navigating the intricate customs of her family, enduring her father’s strictness, or weathering the prejudices of the broader community. Even in these formative years, she displayed the first signs of the determination that would define her life, whether through her fascination with performance, her love of dance and music, or her curiosity about the world around her.
