Nana-Ama Danquah

author, editor, journalist, ghostwriter, public speaker, actress, teacher

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Bibliotherapy: reading as a form of therapy; reading as a method of healing; reading as a way to save your life.

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

March 19, 2019 By nana-ama danquah Leave a Comment

A revelatory letter from a son to his mother. A painful confession about abuse and trauma. A brutally honest commentary on racism, classism, sexism, power and powerlessness in America.

I bought this memoir and casually started reading the first page. After the second sentence, I knew that it was not casual reading material. After the second paragraph, I forced myself to stop reading it because I was not ready to give it my all, and this book demands nothing less than a reader’s all. All of your time. All of your attention. All of your heart. All of your compassion. All of your humanity. I kept it on my bedside table and rearranged two days in my calendar so that I could do nothing but read. I’m a slow reader—and I knew I’d be an even slower reader with this book—but I also knew that I was going to read it from start to finish in one sitting. I needed that second day for reflection, to just sit with everything I’d read.

This book is well-written, well-structured, well-edited: tone, pacing, voice…everything is pitch-perfect and feels easy, natural.

Filed Under: Reading Myself Back to Life

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  • March 2019 (4)

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Title for 2nd Birthing the Butterfly Post

Birthing the Butterfly

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Recent Posts:

Title for 2nd Reading Post

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

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