A review by sharese_reads
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This one hit. As a mom, as a mom of black sons, as a mom of black sons who feels lost sometimes in this world that we fight for and we fight to respect black children and respect who they will, hopefully, grow up to be. 

I fell in love. I fell in love with the person speaking to his mother on the page. I am someone who usually falls a little in love with characters in novels (mostly black women as that is who I generally read) but this is a real person and I feel like I know them and love them because I read their letter to their mom and I FELT that. But I don’t know them, just as I don’t know the women in novels I read. But hopefully that falling in love will make me more empathetic, will make me a better mother to my black sons, will let me see where they bend. 

And that last chapter. I read recently that finding a book or movie that makes you cry is good for your “stress cycle”. The last chapter of “Heavy” will forever be that place for me to go when I need to release.

I listened to this in audio format with Libro.fm via @bliss_books_wine_kc as my favorite way to experience memoirs is in the authors own voice. I highly suggest the audio format but any way you can get Kiese Laymon’s words into you is acceptable- just do it.