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mothebad's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide attempt
artemisg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Life-changing. I’m not kidding.
I don’t know if I have sufficient words to sum up how good this book is and how many emotions it made me feel. But I’ll try.
This book follows our narrator, Gifty, as she tells the story of her parents’ immigration to The United States from Ghana and the gifts and trauma that journey brought. She tells the story of her father’s leaving, her mother’s perseverance, and her brother’s radiance. She tells the story of her brother’s addiction and overdose and her mother’s depression. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at Stanford, studying neuroscience. Her research surrounds addiction and reward-seeking. Additionally, her mother has fallen into another depressive episode and has come to stay in her apartment, and we see Gifty try to reconcile the mother she once knew and the mother she now has, as well as reconcile her religious identity and her identity as a scientist. She was raised Evangelical in Alabama, and her religion defined her for the longest time. Then, her atheism defined her. And now, what defines her?
I trembled, and in the one second it took for the tremble to move through my body, I stopped believing in God.
This is a heartwrenching story about identity, religion, addiction, and family. It is a story about loss. The loss of family members, the loss of religion, the loss of yourself. When something is such a significant part of your identity, who are you when it’s gone? When Gifty loses her faith, in one fell swoop, she does not know who she is. She does not know how to navigate the world without prayer. And as she navigates her young adulthood without God, she is confronted by many scientists who disregard and look down upon religion. Something she cannot do because, despite casting her own religion away, she has seen how it saved her mother’s life, and she has felt something; she has known God to be there.
… but the more I do this work the more I believe in a kind of holiness in our connection to everything on Earth. Holy is the mouse. Holy is the grain the mouse eats. Holy is the seed. Holy are we.
This was such a beautiful examination of redefining relationships with God and other people. It was also a wonderful examination of how people interpret the Bible, how indigenous religions and spirituality intertwine with Christianity, and how blackness and Christianity co-exist. Of course, this is also a story about being black in Alabama and being black in academia. The need to go above and beyond, the need to prove something, and the understanding that you are, always, the other.
We read the Bible how we want to read it. It doesn’t change, but we do.
It is also a story about addiction and loss and has some heavy scenes and themes because of that. It is about loving and hating someone with an addiction and losing yourself when you lose them, both to the drugs and, eventually, to death. It made me cry a lot.
It’s true that for years before he died, I would look at his face and think, What a pity, what a waste. But the waste was my own, the waste was what I missed out on whenever I looked at him and saw just his addiction.
I don’t know if I have sufficient words to sum up how good this book is and how many emotions it made me feel. But I’ll try.
This book follows our narrator, Gifty, as she tells the story of her parents’ immigration to The United States from Ghana and the gifts and trauma that journey brought. She tells the story of her father’s leaving, her mother’s perseverance, and her brother’s radiance. She tells the story of her brother’s addiction and overdose and her mother’s depression. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at Stanford, studying neuroscience. Her research surrounds addiction and reward-seeking. Additionally, her mother has fallen into another depressive episode and has come to stay in her apartment, and we see Gifty try to reconcile the mother she once knew and the mother she now has, as well as reconcile her religious identity and her identity as a scientist. She was raised Evangelical in Alabama, and her religion defined her for the longest time. Then, her atheism defined her. And now, what defines her?
I trembled, and in the one second it took for the tremble to move through my body, I stopped believing in God.
This is a heartwrenching story about identity, religion, addiction, and family. It is a story about loss. The loss of family members, the loss of religion, the loss of yourself. When something is such a significant part of your identity, who are you when it’s gone? When Gifty loses her faith, in one fell swoop, she does not know who she is. She does not know how to navigate the world without prayer. And as she navigates her young adulthood without God, she is confronted by many scientists who disregard and look down upon religion. Something she cannot do because, despite casting her own religion away, she has seen how it saved her mother’s life, and she has felt something; she has known God to be there.
… but the more I do this work the more I believe in a kind of holiness in our connection to everything on Earth. Holy is the mouse. Holy is the grain the mouse eats. Holy is the seed. Holy are we.
This was such a beautiful examination of redefining relationships with God and other people. It was also a wonderful examination of how people interpret the Bible, how indigenous religions and spirituality intertwine with Christianity, and how blackness and Christianity co-exist. Of course, this is also a story about being black in Alabama and being black in academia. The need to go above and beyond, the need to prove something, and the understanding that you are, always, the other.
We read the Bible how we want to read it. It doesn’t change, but we do.
It is also a story about addiction and loss and has some heavy scenes and themes because of that. It is about loving and hating someone with an addiction and losing yourself when you lose them, both to the drugs and, eventually, to death. It made me cry a lot.
It’s true that for years before he died, I would look at his face and think, What a pity, what a waste. But the waste was my own, the waste was what I missed out on whenever I looked at him and saw just his addiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
kaylemix's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Ableism, Racism, and Addiction
annabulkowski's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Addiction, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
c_flint's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Addiction, Death, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Mental illness
ktrain3900's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A story both local and global, of family, whose protagonist, Gifty, contemplates religion, science, relationships, mental health, and loss. The writing is nearly seamless, weaving between the present and past so smoothly sometimes I barely knew where I was and would have to flip back a few pages to find my footing. Despite my superficial differences with Gifty, I found her difficult relationships over time with both God and other people (as well as with herself) relatable, also having had a family member gone too soon. The unlikable character has become popular these days, but give me an imperfect fully human character who transcends like/dislike dualism any day of the week. Heartbreaking and hopeful; beautiful yet ordinary.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Racism, Mental illness, and Grief
236girls's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Grief
Moderate: Racism
siobhan28's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Such an amazing, lyrical book that made me tear up multiple times. The writing was so beautiful and captivating and I finished the book within 24 hours. A lot of parts of the book were heavy but there was always a glimmer of hope
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Racial slurs, Addiction, and Suicide attempt
jenmcreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Racism
bjdarby's review against another edition
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Grief, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt