Books about gender, asylum, and dead things
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Our library had a "freedom to read" (aka banned books) display last month, so I grabbed this graphic novel because I'd heard really good things about it (as well as hearing about the struggle to keep the book available in public libraries, since it's one of the most-often challenged books). The author's art and writing work together to tell the story of eir childhood up through the present and how e came to terms with eir gender identity and sexuality.
To be honest, I related to Kobabe's life way more than I thought I would: e was schooled unconventionally, raised by hippie-adjacent parents who defied a lot of gender stereotypes, is a total Lord of the Rings nerd, writes fanfiction for fun and for emotional processing, and spent a good chunk of eir life trying to make sense of why the traditional roles of both gender and sexuality never matched eir experience. I found myself nodding or chuckling in sympathy at nearly every part of the story, which is told with candor, humor, and often heart-rending honesty.
The book has some sex and non-sexual nudity in it, but neither is the focus of the book. In telling eir story, Kobabe has given readers a gift: either to understand someone different from us, or, in cases like mine, to see myself reflected in a book and to let out a breath of recognition.
Asylum Speakers: Stories of Migration from Humans Behind the Headlines by Jaz O'Hara
I picked this up at the library based on the cover, and found it fascinating: it chronicles the stories of a few dozen refugees that the author has encountered in her charity work (mostly in Europe but also in the U.S.). Reading these stories of hardship is emotionally taxing, but serves as a good reminder of why both empathy and better immigration policy are crucial for creating a better world.
Bright Dead Things: Poems by Ada Limón
I hadn't read any of Ada Limón's poetry, and that was a travesty because it's gorgeous. She has a way of describing something ordinary (riding a motorcycle with her dad when she was a kid, pulling up carrots before they're ready to harvest) and then turning it into a gut-twisting observation about life. Every poem is like a punch in the face— but in a good way.
Previously on What I've Been Reading:
All What I've Been Reading posts
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