Author: Kendra Winchester

Elisabeth Tova Bailey found herself bedridden, and doctors had no idea what was going on. So went her year, and she spent most of it having to lay completely still. This stillness made time seem to pass more slowly. In disabilities studies, we call this “crip time,” which just refers to how disabled people can experience time differently. Bailey found herself watching the small world around her, eventually noticing that a snail had made itself a home in one of her potted plants. She found herself mesmerized by the comings and goings of her new friend. Bailey shares with readers how she was grateful for this part of her experience being bedridden. She found herself noticing the wonders of the natural world she wouldn’t have seen otherwise. As someone who is often stuck in bed or on the couch, I appreciated Bailey’s take on this and found myself following Bailey’s lead and appreciating my surroundings.

I love a good essay collection! And as a long-time resident of the South, I’m always looking for new perspectives on the complex region I call home. Anjali Enjeti writes about her experiences living as a South Asian American woman in the South. When people not from the region think of the South, they often have a lot of assumptions. Enjeti tackles a lot of the stereotypes of folks in the South, and writes about the dangers of white feminism, the rise of Christian Nationalism, and the difficulties of organizing in the South. Her essays are so insightful, inviting readers to examine the South in a new way.

From the moment I heard Vicki Laveau-Harvie’s voice reading the audiobook of The Erratics, I knew I was listening to something really special. Laveau-Harvie’s debut novel came out in her late 70s, and she won the prestigious Stella Prize for best book. Her memoir centers on a time when Laveau-Harvie travels from Australia back to Canada to care for her parents after her mother has a horrible fall. When Laveau-Harvie leaves her mom in the hospital to go take care of her dad back at the family home, she discovers that her father has been neglected. It seems that her mother was starving him. Caring for her father stirs up so many childhood memories that she’d rather stay locked away. As she describes her time with her parents and key memories from her childhood, readers can’t help but be swept away by her prose. And in the Australian edition of the audiobook, Laveau-Harvie reads her story herself. She’s an incredible narrator, with such a dry wit and dark sense of humor. This is such an unknown gem of a book.

Carly Findlay was born with a rare skin condition called Ichthyosis, which causes her skin to appear red and inflamed. Findlay grew up with doctors constantly poking and prodding her. She was paraded in front of doctors who marveled over her rare condition, often making her feel like an animal in a zoo. Other kids, and their parents, responded horribly to Findlay just trying to live her life at school and in her community. Through all of this she wished that people would quit staring at her. She wanted them to just introduce themselves and say hello. Findlay, who is an incredible disability rights advocate from Australia, has worked tirelessly to promote and support disabled people, particularly by raising awareness for people with facial differences. I really appreciate Findlay sharing her story with the world, and I will treasure her memoir always.

Like much of the bookish world, I became engrossed by Matthew Desmond’s Evicted. Now Desmond is back with Poverty, By America, which delves into how America has systematically built itself around keeping the poor, well, poor. While Evicted is a very structured book around the people Desmond meets during his research, Poverty, By America is structured thematically around his ideas. Desmond’s latest is a very slim book, but in its pages, he continues his discussion of America’s economically disadvantaged and the structures in place to keep them from building wealth.

When she is 14, Lamya H is sitting in her high school classroom in a country in the Middle East when she realizes that she’s gay. After she moves to the U.S. for college, she begins to find a life of her own as a queer, hijab-wearing Muslim. She finds a community of other queer Muslims, some of whom become her found family. Lamya’s book is my favorite memoir of the year so far. She writes in such beautiful prose and possesses this incredible ability to create intimacy between the text and her readers.

I love a memoir that plays with format, and Black, White, and the Grey is the perfect example of why that is. This memoir is written in turn by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano, the two co-owners of The Grey, a restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. Their memoir describes how Morisano, a Italian from Staten Island, and Bailey, a Black chef from Queens, came to become business partners. They write in alternating sections, each author’s text appears in different fonts. They each share their perspective on their story, but working in tandem. On the audiobook, they each read their own section, creating this unique back and forth feel, like you’re listening to them describe their experience starting the Grey on some panel at a food festival. I loved every minute of it.

Michael W. Twitty is no stranger to connecting his cultural background to the food he cooks. I loved his first book, The Cooking Gene, which followed the results of his commercial genetics test that showed his different racial and ethnic backgrounds. He shared the different foods from his heritage and how they connect to who he is now. His latest book, Koshersoul, follows his spiritual and cultural journey as an African American Jewish man. He describes the history of African and African American Jewish people and how their experiences have deeply impacted Jewish cuisine. I just love learning more about how food connects us with our culture, and Twitty’s books are always so incredible and engrossing.

From the first essay that I listened to Irby read, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite writers. Her essays are hilarious but still filled with more serious topics, like growing up with a disabled mom and a dad who died far too soon. Yes, Irby uses humor to cope with the difficult things in her life, but she also uses humor to express the bright spots in her life. She describes meeting her wife and falling in love with such tenderness and laugh-out-loud anecdotes.

I love movies and TV. There’s just something about watching a story that taps into universal feelings that we all hold close to our chest. But I also love essays, so when I heard Lindy West had an essay collection all about modern cinema, I downloaded that audiobook so fast. And Sh*t, Actually is a delight. West is known for her over-the-top way of expressing herself, which lends itself to writing about movies. I laughed so much. I can’t recommend it enough if you just need something ridiculous (in the absolute best possible way) to read/listen to as a pick-me-up.

I really loved May’s book about what she calls “wintering,” a difficult time in our lives when we draw back and rest. She argues that this is a vital part of anyone’s life. It’s a natural “season” that everyone has, but then why do we treat those “wintering” as if they have failed? It’s such a gorgeous book! I pre-ordered Enchantment and was fascinated to learn that this book is completely its own thing. Enchantment is about slowing down and appreciating the natural world. It’s a nature-focused treatise on pausing to smell the roses. I admit, I expected more of Wintering’s vibes, but I now suspect that May wanted Enchantment to be its own thing. So if you’re looking for a quiet book to cozy up with on a warm spring day, I’d definitely recommend this one.

Here in Spartanburg, South Carolina, we have a wonderful indie press called Hub City Press. It’s a lovely boutique nonprofit press that focuses on Southern and Appalachian literature. One of my favorite books of theirs in recent years is A Measure of Belonging: Twenty-One Writers of Color on the New American South. It’s an anthology of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color from the South writing about their experiences. Authors like Natalia Sylvester, Kiese Laymon, and Aruni Kashyap share their stories. Cinelle Barnes did such a wonderful job putting this collection together. She’s definitely edited a book that I will be gifting to all of my friends for the foreseeable future.