Who’s Ready for a Girls’ Weekend?

Literary powerhouse Morgan Parker is out with a new collection of essays that examine Parker’s feelings of alienation in just about every part of her life. She describes living with depression and a deep sense of loneliness. Her experience with disability impacts every aspect of her life. She shares stories of her white therapist, who proved unhelpful in Parker’s experiences as a Black woman with mental illness. In other essays, she expands from ideas of the personal, giving her readers a bigger picture of Black life in America. Morgan Parker is truly a gem of a writer, one with a unique perspective always worth reading.

Ann Gazmarian grew up as a devout evangelical, but when she’s diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she finds that many of the Christians in her community are far from supportive. Some people think that she must have done something wrong to have warranted such a diagnosis, while others don’t believe that mental illness even exists. Her diagnosis starts her journey away from the evangelical church to a spiritual place wholly new to her. Gazmarian’s writing is contemplative, and constantly examines her faith, her place in the world, and how she can move forward with her life.