In recent years there has been a shift in the Western world in the way that we talk about mental health. Stigma has been addressed head-on and real discussions are happening online, face-to-face, in doctor’s offices, and over the phone about mental health. People are coming forward and talking about their mental health and people … Continue reading
It is nothing new that trans voices have often been pushed aside, forgotten, and oppressed in societies across the globe. The fact that they confuse societal norms about gender binaries and gender-stasis make them terrifying to those who do not understand or prescribe to gender fluidity. This, paired with the flip side of people using … Continue reading
Disclaimer: unapologetic discussions about periods and diarrhea ahead. As soon as I saw this book appear as a new release in Goodreads, I put it on my TBR straight away. As someone who identifies as a woman who also has a uterus, this book spoke to me. I’ve struggled with painful and irregular periods my … Continue reading
Gifts are complicated things. The simple premise of giving someone something they need, love, or want is what actually complicates the definition of a gift. Gifts, before anything else, function like a contract that requires the exchange of goods and/or services until someone dies, or decides to break off the relationship with the gift giver. … Continue reading
Talking about race is exhausting. It is emotionally draining, stressful, awkward, painful, scary, and sometimes really dangerous. To have a conversation about race, or any hard topics like gender, sexuality, and class, requires a level of vulnerability that demands patience and practice. People from different sides of the spectrum often come to the table with … Continue reading
I am not going to lie, the decision I made to read this book was heavily based on the cover. What is that old saying again? Anyway, I found myself drawn to the strong yellows and greens and I had also seen this book everywhere. It was popping up in book stores, in my library, … Continue reading
I am going to cut to the chase on this review. Like the title suggests, there is a problem with the way that Asian literature is represented, or to be more precise its lack of representation, in the Western world. Many scholars and teachers have suggested to me over the years that Asian literature cannot … Continue reading
First of all, let me start by saying this book is long. Over 700 pages long. It is not something for the faint-hearted, however, I will say that in audiobook form this novel is still long (25+hrs of listening time), but digestible. This was the first Stephen King and/or Owen King novel that I have … Continue reading
Suki Kim’s book Without You, There Is No Us: My Secret Life Teaching the Sons of North Korea’s Elite was written in 2014. It was gifted to me by a beautiful friend of mine in 2017 because she knows I am a huge fan of nonfiction (specifically memoirs) and North/South Korean literature. I really enjoyed … Continue reading
Rupi Kaur’s poetry collection Milk and Honey burst onto the literary scene in 2015. It quickly turned from a self-published collection to being picked up by a major publishing house and turning into millions of sales around the world. Poetry in the twenty-first century is not at the forefront of general literary interest. More often … Continue reading
