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Nov 23, 2019STPL_JessH rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This is a difficult book to review. I respect Saeed Jones and the raw and vulnerable narrative he presents. I am not sure I recommend it, though. I did not enjoy reading the book and found it almost mediocre at times which is surprising given Jones’ willingness to share hard truths. This memoir is anecdotal in nature with specific moments recorded and then years go by without details. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this narrative choice; I just found it a bit disjointed. I was also surprised by the moments of poor writing considering that Jones is a poet. I would be interested to read his other work. I can appreciate comparisons to Kiese Laymon’s work, but Heavy had such gravitas that I feel is lacking here. That said, How We Fight For Our Lives is a book that will continue to resonate and I may well change my mind about it.