Usually, when I read a book from my hometown, New Orleans, I don't expect much. I usually can't relate. Most books are just filled with allure, mystery, and fun. New Orleans can be all those things but that is not the bulk of my experiences growing up in New Orleans. I know how it is to be raised there. There are some truths in the south that are harder to face than others. Those truths are built-in anti-blackness, racism, colorism, white supremacy, and the absence of black fathers.

As I listened to this book on audiobook, I wanted it to end. Not because I thought it was boring or didn't have value. I wanted it to end because I was triggered and understand the loss that Jesmyn described. I too have felt many of the emotions she has felt in regards to an absent father. I too have had a difficult time attending a school in a predominately white institution. I too want to protect my nephews from them streets because dem streets ain't loyal.

With every loss, she felt, with every promise broken, with every pain she felt... I was with her. I won't pretend and say that I understand her life because I can't. She is her and I am me. I pray for my brother every day. The rawness in this book took my breath away. This is the first book that is honest about the realities of growing up in New Orleans. I love my city but I am also afraid of consequences that my city has on the ones I love the most.