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ostrowk's review against another edition
4.0
What a beautiful, vulnerable memoir. "This book is testimony," Darnell Moore writes, "it is a cultural and political history bringing to light the life of a black boy maneuvering through a city whose past he never knew" (7). NO ASHES IN THE FIRE succeeds in this duality, though I did want even more storytelling. More fully set scenes, more time to linger in Moore's life, particularly after college.
A beautiful conclusion to the epilogue, too: "I am hopeful because I have faith in black liberation, which is to say, the freedom we dream and practice when we refuse to set fire to another person's potential to love, to laugh, to live...I've been able to reimagine what a practice of black radical love looks like. In my mind, it looks like my big black family piled up in the tiny house we shared on Broadway in Camden in the 1980s. Always full. Always saturated with love. Always a center of disagreement. Always a place of shelter for those on the edges. Always the place where one could come to make amends and be forgiven. Always a site of imagination where we dreamt of new means of survival in the face of scarcity" (234).
A beautiful conclusion to the epilogue, too: "I am hopeful because I have faith in black liberation, which is to say, the freedom we dream and practice when we refuse to set fire to another person's potential to love, to laugh, to live...I've been able to reimagine what a practice of black radical love looks like. In my mind, it looks like my big black family piled up in the tiny house we shared on Broadway in Camden in the 1980s. Always full. Always saturated with love. Always a center of disagreement. Always a place of shelter for those on the edges. Always the place where one could come to make amends and be forgiven. Always a site of imagination where we dreamt of new means of survival in the face of scarcity" (234).
kvokolek's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Police brutality
nellkristen's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
4.25
rachbake's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Police brutality, and Drug use
omarriney's review
5.0
This is the first book I have ever read where I feel like me life and story are reflected back in the pages. I couldn't put it down. Its beautifully written and is a great introduction for any one who is curious about the Queer Black Experience.
sds7's review against another edition
4.0
An important, powerful book. The author is an inspiration and the book is a beautiful education for those who did not grow up queer, black, and poor. The author's capacity for self-reflection, empathy, and forgiveness was really eye-opening. He really demonstrates how to be human. Sometimes I was confused by the order of events and got a little lost, but that did not affect the messages of the book. Also, I wish he would have written more about his 30s.
applescc's review against another edition
4.0
I got this book as a pre-published ARC at a library conference. Beautifully written memoir.