books about trauma – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Repairing Play: A Black Phenomenology, by Aaron Trammell

A Black woman's hand(Mel's) holds the paperback of Black Play in front of a strongly patterned carpet in complimentary colors. The cover shows Black children running a footrace.

(Buy this book here) One person’s game can be another’s torment. Aaron Trammell is a professor of informatics and the editor of Analog Game Studies. He puts this background to good use in this book, analyzing what play really means in a racialized context and a racist society. He pulls from theory, philosophy, cultural wisdom,Continue reading “[REVIEW] Repairing Play: A Black Phenomenology, by Aaron Trammell”

[REVIEW] First Blood, by David Morrell

A tablet displaying the cover of First Blood is held up in front of a leafless fall tree at twilight. The cover depicts a lone man standing in shadow, looking towards a light.

(Buy it here.) I remember thinking, the first time I watched the Sylvester Stallone film Rambo: First Blood, that it wasn’t what I expected at all. I expected a dumb, violent, muscley action flick. It is all of that, but wrapped around a surprisingly empathetic portrayal of a scared young Vietnam vet with PTSD usingContinue reading “[REVIEW] First Blood, by David Morrell”

[REVIEW] Docile, by K.M. Sparza

(Find out more on Bookshop) This book was kinda trash. Now look–I love a good trashy book. Y’all have seen my no-bodice-left-unripped romance novel reviews. A little bit of junk food never hurt anybody, and the same goes for books. But this book is not Twinkies, Takis and giant sour pickles. This book is mysteryContinue reading “[REVIEW] Docile, by K.M. Sparza”

[REVIEW] The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah

A Black woman(me) is partly visible, holding a tablet displaying the cover of The Coldest Winter Ever. The book cover shows a Black girl's face from the nose down, her full lips painted bright pink. The woman holding the book is also only visible from nose down and wearing a similar lipstick

(Buy it on Bookshop) Back in 1999, I was an 18-year old nerd who spent way too much time reading.(Big surprise.) I was a soft, weak naive thing without an ounce of fight in me–but I hated this book and would have happily beat the brakes off of somebody like Winter Santiaga in real life.Continue reading “[REVIEW] The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah”

[Review] A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

Black and white book with photo of man's tightened face on cover held up in front of apartments buildings on a snowy street

(Find it HERE.) Jude, Willem, JB and Malcolm meet during their freshman year of university, and luckily the friendship lasts a lifetime–through failures, successes, relationships, jobs, deaths and heartbreak. They’re a motley crew–all different races, classes and sexualities–but the main character is Jude, the shyest and most secretive of the crew, tortured by an unspeakableContinue reading “[Review] A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara”

[REVIEW] Black Indian, by Shonda Buchanan

(Find it HERE.) Why don’t I like this book? ⠀⠀ I really wanted to. It’s a memoir of the author’s multiracial family, who were coded Black by American caste norms but felt culturally closer to their Choctaw and Coharie Indigenous ancestors who purchased and integrated African slaves, then expelled their mixed descendants in a bidContinue reading “[REVIEW] Black Indian, by Shonda Buchanan”

[REVIEW] Slave Play, Jeremy O. Harris

(Buy it HERE.) “I think it’s really important to reiterate that what we all just explored was incredibly difficult and triggering, but it was also fantasy.“ For the month of March I gave myself the stealth challenge to only read works written by women. However, a friend who reads far more than I do gotContinue reading “[REVIEW] Slave Play, Jeremy O. Harris”

[REVIEW] When My Brother Was An Aztec, Natalie Diaz

“When My Brother Was An Aztec/he lived in our basement and sacrificed my parents/every morning. It was awful.” Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was An Aztec is a legit masterpiece. Go read it, now. Books of poetry are sometimes navel-gazing, self-absorbed bores but this one is simply amazing. I slurped it down in two shortContinue reading “[REVIEW] When My Brother Was An Aztec, Natalie Diaz”

[REVIEW]No One Can Pronounce My Name, Rakesh Satyal

(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀ This book is easily my second favorite read of the year so far after Girl, Woman, Other. It’s funny, touching, warm-hearted, and surprisingly deep. It’s also ferociously well-written. (One chapter made me close the book, say WOW, & sit for a while with the words.) I can’t believe I’ve never heardContinue reading “[REVIEW]No One Can Pronounce My Name, Rakesh Satyal”

[REVIEW] On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong

(Buy it HERE.) “Who will be lost in the story we tell ourselves? Who will be lost in ourselves?” This is a messy book. There’s a lot going on between its covers–PTSD, emerging sexuality, poverty, war, immigration, mental illness, class, race, abuse, art, gender performance. There’s a lot going on, but it all seems toContinue reading “[REVIEW] On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong”