Time Is A Mother & Misfits: A Personal Manifesto

BREATHTAKING NON-FICTION

Before the weekends festivities commence, let me recommend two absolutely shattering, truly beautiful books that are slender in length but mighty in power. I rarely annotate whilst I read but with these two I had no choice.

Time is a Mother

Award winning @ocean_vuong is known for his monumental previous book On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous which is a firm favourite of ours, a tender exploration of memory, loss, and love. Time is a Mother, published in April, is a collection of poems wrestling with the loss of his mother to breast cancer in 2019 (swipe for a few shots of lines that pierced my soul).

Vuong’s writing puts me in a sort of transcendent trance. His search for meaning in the aftermath of death is searing, he plays with word placement, with pace, with etymology to create a feeling with his work that speaks to the very soul. At one point there is the monthly Amazon list of his mother that genuinely moved me to tears in its intimacy and impact. There is no one like him. Thank you to @jonathancape@vintagebooks for this advance proof which I will treasure. Always. 

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto

Michaela Coel is the brilliant actress & renowned creator of I May Destroy You & Chewing Gum, critically acclaimed for her wit and searing, unashamed truth. This is a love letter to boldness, to unapologetic transparency & to persistence in the face of detractors,

Coel gave a lecture that quickly became an iconic moment, calling out the murky waters of the tv & film industry. This is the text of her speech with her thoughts alongside it both before & after delivery. Deeply personal, achingly funny and a gut punch call to arms, she gives us insight into her career whilst advocating for change. 

I had to buy this one. There are layers of meaning, to the definition of “misfit” to the use of moths which weaves throughout (swipe for a few examples of brilliance). We do not deserve her ~ C

Order your copy of Misfits here and your copy of Time Is A Mother here.