“I remember it as October days are always remembered, cloudless, maple-flavored, the air gold and so clean it quivers.” 

This book is moving in the way it sweeps you up without being dramatic. The writing is lovely, the characters touching, and the story engulfing. I loved it and finished with a lump in my throat in both satisfaction and melancholy.

This book was incredibly powerful. It’s well-written and so honest. The memoir walks through Dr. Coleman’s life from youth to doctoral work, chronicling her struggles with faith, mental health, trauma, and identity. I will recommend this book to many people, especially those who work in ministry.

“Believing that hipsters can reverse the consequences of late-stage capitalism is a more attractive thought for city planners in cash-strapped cities than realizing that many American cities are, for now, screwed thanks to postindustrial decline and growing inequality. Gentrification may provide a new tax base, but it also reshapes what cities are, turning them into explicit supporters of inequality, reliant on it to self-fund, yet still unable to meet the needs of their poor. A real solution to the economics of American cities would require more work - more taxes, more laws, more intervention from the federal government. Those things are hard. Gentrification is easy.” 

This book is phenomenally researched and written. It’s approachable and important and pulls no punches. One of the best books I read this year. Highly, highly recommend.

I will never see the world the same after reading this book. It's devastating and fascinating all at once.

This is beautifully written, gripping, emotional, and poignant; however, the story is in a style that manages to offer answers without closure. Such is life, and it fits well with the story, but left me feeling heavy and a bit unsatisfied. That said, I would still recommend it because it truly is a touching, beautiful narrative about a conflict most of the world either forget about or is unaware of.

I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever been so delighted by a book. It’s sweet, whimsical, very funny, and really engrossing. Would thoroughly recommend.