In this collection of essays, Bassey Ikpi provides her truth about living with bipolar II and anxiety, going all the way back to flashes of childhood in Nigeria to her experiences with medication and being institutionalized.
Read Moreat I love most about this book is the nuanced way in which it depicts present-day Iran, from the tension between the majority-Muslim population and Bahá’í minority (of which Darius’ new friend, Sohrab, is a part) to the dazzling historical architecture. Sohrab and Darius bond over soccer, Darius bonds with his grandmother over tea, and everyone bonds over the mouthwatering food. Meaningful conversations are had about depression and the ways in which it affects everyday life.
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If the events and characters are the weft, giving color and pattern to this narrative, Nigerian life and Yoruba custom are the warp that gives it structure. … Through his words I tasted and smelt the suya Kaaro eats at a roadside stand, felt the heat from the smoldering remains of reanimated bodies “restored” by the dome, and sprinted down a dusty road from a killer robot.
Read MoreBlack Girl Unlimited contains multitudes. It explores queerness, addiction, abuse, generational trauma, and sexism. It depicts the ways we can grow apart — from others, from ourselves — and how we can grow together. It proclaims that there is no perfect ending: we may lose something essential but learn to live without it, or we may be born whole into a world that does not want us to be. Echo Brown takes us on a journey through a community that, like the sidewalks that line it, are full of cracks where life yet thrives.
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