Heavy: An American Memoir

The Memoir & Poetry Spot

A snapshot review of a book related to the Non-fiction Feature

Also in this Weekly Bulletin:
The Non-fiction Feature: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Tatum
The Product Spot: KiwiCo – STEM, STEAM & Science Kits for Kids

The Pithy Take

Kiese Laymon writes about growing up as a black boy in Mississippi, fighting with his incandescently brilliant mother who twisted and pulled him into adulthood, leaning on his grandmother (the smartest person he’s ever known, but someone like her could never be the president), gaining and losing weight with unnatural ferocity, and navigating the murk of academia. To get anywhere—not even anywhere good, Laymon shows, just a “where”—Black people must be unrelenting in revising their lives and words.

For a few seconds, I remembered that the most abusive parts of our nation obsessively neglect yesterday while peddling in possibility. I remembered that we got here by refusing to honestly remember together. I remember that it was easier to promise than it was to reckon or change.