Scan barcode
nenekiribookwyrm's review against another edition
5.0
ally is a strange book and that's not a bad thing. It's composed of many interwoven interstitial conversations the author has had with an unreliable narrator-type character that is at least part of herself. At times incredibly gripping and intensely personal, ally is a book that doesn't shy away from the difficult conversations that we often need to have with ourselves. In a way, I think the author used the conversations to reach a type of catharsis with some of the subjects discussed. After all, who knows us better than ourselves? The dialogue is well written and the ally the author talks to has a character and writing style of her own. So that even though their words are italicized to let you know who's speaking, after a few pages of the book you can tell who's talking from the tone and style of response. The book covers a lot of subjects from gender expression, the difficulty of accepting yourself while dealing with health problems, and the importance of building communities you feel safe expressing yourself in. As well as just about everything between those too. It's a big book, and as such I would recommend reading it in chunks to keep from getting overwhelmed by the emotions that are bared on the pages. There's a good chunk of the book that focuses on a period in the author's life wherein which she had a number of visible physical tics that would make her life more difficult. The frankness with which she discusses this is a breath of fresh air from someone who also had a physical tic brought on by stressful conditions. And though it has left me as well, I worry that I too will eventually remember and it will be back. It meant a hell of a lot to me to read about someone else's experience and I just wanted to say that. I could go on for a while about the other aspects of this book, how it discusses burnout in tech and finding the drive to work on things after the passion has left you but I'm rambling at this point. If you do decide to pick up the book, just know that pg. 302 hit me much harder than I'd like to admit. Because we're all just trying to make it through. I'll take this experience and try to be a good ally.