Category: True Story

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.

When she was 19, Emily Maloney was admitted to the hospital via the ER for attempted suicide. But she didn’t realize that every single question a nurse or medical professional might ask her, also came with a high price tag. When she left the hospital, she found herself in five-figure medical debt, with no prospects on how she might pay it off. Cost of Living looks at the different ways that America’s very broken healthcare system charges to keep people alive, many of whom are in times of crisis. When you just want yourself or your loved ones to make it through, how are you supposed to make informed decisions when hospitals actively discourage you from doing so? Maloney’s collection was, admittedly, very hard for me to read. As a disabled person who has found myself in the emergency room on many occasions, I couldn’t help but deeply feel for Maloney and her uphill battle of trying to find appropriate care.

In this graphic memoir, author Teresa Wong describes her experience with postpartum depression, and her struggle to find effective treatment for her condition. Having a baby comes with a lot of expectations of how a person should feel about their new baby. There’s a societal expectation that they will be happy, that every discomfort is worth it because you just had a baby. That it should just be a wonderful experience across the board, right? But that’s not how it went for Wong. She found herself stuffed in a fog of intense depression, making it incredibly difficult for her to find a medical professional that would even acknowledge her condition, let alone work with her to find the appropriate treatment.

When James Tate Hill was 16, he began to lose his vision. He and his parents began visiting doctor after doctor, trying to find some sort of treatment to restore his sight. Hill hid the extent of his condition from everyone around him. As he entered adulthood and attended college, Hill found ways to get around telling his peers the true reason why he didn’t drive or read menus at restaurants. When Hill falls in love and marries his wife, her attitude toward his disability often sours their relationship. Through his story, Hill takes readers through his journey of self acceptance and coming to peace with his blindness.

Haben Girma is an Eritrean American DeafBlind activist who graduated from Harvard Law School. She was born with a condition that would eventually cause her to lose the majority of her sight and hearing. But Girma embraces her bodymind as it is, going to a special summer camp for the blind and traveling the world. Her memoir follows her experiences and all of the incredible things she’s accomplished in her life. She describes first standing up for herself when a teacher wouldn’t provide the notes she needed for class when she was in middle school. Girma now uses her law degree to fight for the legal rights for folks in the disabled community.

This incredible cookbook is a 2019 James Beard Award Finalist. Plus it was named a Best Cookbook of the Year by The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, Houston Chronicle, Food52, PopSugar, and more. This phenomenal cookbook invites readers into the diverse range of Filipino cuisine with all of its many influences, including Chinese, Arab, Mexican, and Spanish cooking techniques. The authors invite readers to learn more about the origins of their recipes, creating a cookbook that is such a wonderful celebration of Filipino cooking.

One of the most famous cookbook writers from Southern Appalachia, Edna Lewis is a true treasure of the region. Her recipes are structured around the four seasons. She encourages readers to cook with what is in season and to cherish every flavor. When reading her recipes, I can’t help but think that Lewis’ recipes harken back to another time. With recipes like Cornpone and Brandied Peaches, I wonder if my own Southern grandmother would have cooked these dishes, too. Lewis is such a phenomenal cornerstone for Southern Appalachian cuisine.

Jeanna Kadlec grew up with her church being her whole world. If the doors were open, her family was there. She volunteered, participated in Bible studies galore, read devotionals — she did anything and everything to find a way to draw closer to God. Eventually she married a Pastor’s son, moved to the East Coast for school, and started her new life far from the midwestern world in which she grew up. But there was always something…missing. She tried to be the best wife, the best example of Biblical womanhood that she could. Somehow, her work on herself and on her marriage was never enough. As her marriage begins to slowly crumble, she falls in love with a woman, and she realizes that she’s gay. From there, she must decide what her life will look like and if faith will be part of it. Kadlec’s memoir is a beautiful testament to a woman who loves her community and faith, but never truly fits in. She looks around and wonders how is all of this seemingly so easy for everyone else?

Lamya’s family moves from South Asia to the Middle East, hoping to start a new life. Lamya attends an international Muslim school, and when she’s 14, she realizes that she’s gay. After Lamya moves to the U.S. for school, she has more freedom to decide what her life, and her faith, will look like. Lamya continues to wear her hijab, despite family discouraging her. She’s not wearing her hijab for them. She’s wearing her hijab for God. Lamya finds a balance of her life as a hijab-wearing queer person trying to date women in New York City. She finds an incredible queer Muslim community and a close group of friends she will forever see as family. Lamya’s memoir is incredibly emotionally intimate as she ties her story to the stories of the prophets she loves so dearly. She pushes back against the narrative that queer people can’t be people of faith. For her, her faith is just as much a part of her as her queerness, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Shawna Kay is from an Eastern Kentucky family that’s firmly rooted in a conservative religious community. After the family returns from living up north to be with the commune full time, her family settles back into the familiar routines of life in the heart of Appalachia. She begins to wonder what her life could be like if she doesn’t choose her parents’ life. But she doesn’t want to be away from her family. How can she find a life that she enjoys AND keep a relationship with her family? Shawna Kay’s memoir is so heartfelt, such an intimate portrait of a woman looking for her place in the world.

I adored Michael W. Twitty’s book The Cooking Gene and have been waiting for his new book for SO LONG. And Koshersoul didn’t disappoint. In his latest book, Twitty describes his experience as a Black, Jewish convert and how that experience is expressed in his food. Each chapter is full of incredible insights and, of course, great food. Twitty has such an incredible way of writing that invites readers into his life, creating such an emotional connection between the text and its readers.

I adored The Warmth of Other Suns and couldn’t wait to pick up her next book. In Caste, she compares America’s systemic racism to the Caste systems in India and Nazi Germany. She argues that America has a similar Caste system, just by a different name. I really appreciated her insight. Her writing is always thought-provoking, but Caste asks readers to reconsider how they view America’s history of racism. It’s definitely a read you won’t want to miss.

In Evicted, Matthew Desmond followed several different families as they faced eviction. Desmond describes the complex system of housing and how it’s so expensive to be poor. In Poverty, by America, Desmond examines why America has such an incredible issue with poverty when it’s the richest country in the world. This is a short book, more a summary of the different issues at hand than anything else. But it makes for an interesting conversation starter. And if readers want to know more, Evicted would be a great next step.