Wow. I was so moved by this story. I loved that she was a writer, first and foremost, then an addict, then recovering. Usually addiction memoirs are trite, repetitive, or too neatly wrapped up by people who aren't writers but have a story to tell. What a beautiful way with words. She does a compelling job of weaving film, literature, pop culture (Amy Winehouse) and her own struggles through addiction. I loved the geography of the book too, from New Haven to Ohio and Iowa from a literary perspective and sharing parts of the pnw where Carver rests in peace. I'd read more of her work, for sure.

A regrettably timeless look at racism.

What a voice! I loved Morgan, her group of friends and her family. I come from a small, conservative-ish town with more churches than bars. I felt her desire to question things and not accept rules at face value. Morgan was absolutely relatable, part Enid Coleslaw, part Daria Morgendorffer. At the same time, her experiences as a black woman in formative teen years were hard to relate to, and depressing. You think we've progressed as a nation (she sees Obama get elected) but even 10 years later, it feels like we're so far behind (after his election, bros at her school [and I think even one of the teachers?] call him Osama). I'm listening to Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider and it reminds me of the poem where she talks about eating arsenic bit by bit to develop a tolerance; Morgan grew up surrounded by racism - even if it wasn't extreme KKK cross-burning, it was insidious and recurring. She grew up hating herself, taking antidepressants, feeling like an outcast. A lot of us feel that way in our teens but for her it has the added ugliness of it being racially motivated. I'm glad she escaped the judgey Stepford Catholic school and (IRL) moved to NY!

The only thing I didn't like was the narration. Audre's voice and viewpoints are compelling still, even 35 years later.

One of my favorite contemporary books. So stylized! At times, it reminds me of e.e. cummings, the way M.Z.D makes his writing into an interactive illustration of what is happening. A creepy morbid story about the supernatural. It begins with a house measuring bigger on the inside than on the outside. The house has supernatural qualities. Characters are great. Love it. Would recommend it to anyone with a dark side to themselves.