For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

A powerful read filled with insight on various aspects of weight, body image, self-worth, and culture.

One of the things that makes this such a unique book is that the journey is presented as a work in progress. Gay documents her way through life, recounting various events that shaped her as a person. There is a deep level of insight in connecting things that happened in her past to how she views the world and her place within it.

While writing the book, it is clear that Gay does not completely accept her body. However, I think this is an important perspective to highlight. While she supports the body positivity movement, she still struggles with how her body is perceived, how she views her own body, and the difficulties in moving within a culture that does not always value different experiences. This is a relatable perspective for all of us who love the idea of others accepting and loving their bodies, but have a hard time applying this to ourselves. This book helps validate that struggle and promotes the journey of acceptance and love. It's great to see people who fully accept themselves, but it can be a hard path to get to that point that involves a lot of work and insight.

While the book focuses on Gay's own experiences, aspects of culture are also examined such as weight loss shows, diet programs, obsessions with celebrity bodies, women's clothing, and accessibility. It is more than just one person's journey, it is a look at how messages in the media and the larger culture influence how we view our bodies and the bodies of others.

An insightful look at weight, health, and eating as well as connected aspects of rape culture, family pressure, disordered eating, cultural messages, race, acceptance of abusive relationships, and self worth. Gay's narration is very open, forcing the reader to examine the world around them and deal with some of the discomfort involved with that.

Well-written and powerful, this book shows that body acceptance is not an easy journey, but one that involves conscious work everyday. It makes the reader aware of some of the automatic and unconscious ways culture treats the diversity of bodies. It proves that there is much work to be done. 

Before Miyuki's grandfather can put her to bed there are a number of chores that must be done. There is an element of fantasy to the routine of chores and getting ready for bed that intrigues and charms. The mood is completely different, but it reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are.

The art is exquisite: beautifully patterned and shaped while also calming and serene through clever use of white space.
So lovely. I'm going to need to see all the Miyuki books now. Also, someone needs to make a Miyuki nursery using fabrics based on the patterns and incorporating some of the art into the aesthetic.

Library copy

You can read the piece here

Title: Ayiti

Author/Narrator: Roxane Gay

Format: audiobook

Time: 02:46 (166 mins)

Wow!

Powerful.  Haunting.  Amazing.  Haitian-American is not my experience, but I feel through the author's words--hearing them in her own voice figuratively and literally--I got a taste of what it is to live the Haitian-American experience.  While I'll never truly know, this collection of short stories makes me wish I could.  I wish we could all just immerse ourselves into other cultures so that we could learn from them and appreciate them and our own more.

I loved every minute of these stories and only wish there were more.

Date Published: May 1, 2018

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Date Read: March 7-8, 2019

Review:

I thought Roxane Gay did a great job putting this anthology together. Partly it was the variety (not every story involves a rape), partly was the lack of tangents which comes with talk about rape culture. She kept it to the voices of men and women who had a clear voice and point that came across in such short works. I would have liked a few more men and non-binary people voices though, as I found the last few stories just repeats of points made earlier in the book.