How we fight for our lives : Book Review


Book Review


Title: How we fight for our lives
Author: Saeed Jones
Genre: Memoir

How we fight for our lives is a stunning coming of age memoir by award winning poet Saeed Jones. He is the winner of the Kirkus Prize and the Stonewall book award. 

This memoir captures his struggles as a black gay man in Texas and how he finds a place for himself in the society. He narrates about his experiences of coming to terms with his sexuality, striving for acceptance and his sexual escapades. He also writes about being brought up by a single mother, his mother's heart condition, economic hardships, getting into college and finding his calling in poetry. 

There is an unflinching honesty in the writing style with an unabashed narrative tone.This memoir is packed with several themes, elements and emotions. There Is confusion, disappointment, anger, pain and grief while he grapples with his identity and comes to terms with certain incidents. He touches upon the subject of normalcy and finding acceptance within oneself. Themes of race, sex and gender are dealt with here.   

Saeed Jones' journey earns him immense admiration from readers, for being able to battle his way against prejudices. This book showcases his tenacity and vulnerabilities at the same time. It ignites a ray of hope about retaining your individuality in a society that often frowns upon certain deviations from conventional norms. 

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