Essays are often neglected, perhaps because of its serious or academic nature. There are however some collections that are page turners and can keep one’s eyes glued to the last word.
Here are five collections of essays gifted us by these amazing writers.
- The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang
American writer delves into the scary yet overly familiar abyss of mental illnesses, which we are all directly or indirectly connected to. She gives us new meanings to metal illnesses, and opens our eyes with shared experiences in this award winning collection of essays.
- What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young
Young brings memory into play, in this hilarious collection of essays that explores the concept of blackness, its impediments, in a world shaped by whiteness.
- I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura
Laura describes in this collection of essays that reads like fiction, about her battle with identity crisis, after having done all that is expected of her (job, husband, and children).
- Black is the Body: Stories from my Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine by Emily Bernard
This collection of essays bother on race from Bernard’s view across three generations. She shares her experience as a professor who teaches African American literature and her adoption of twin girls from Ethiopia.
- I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying by Bassey Ikpi
Bassey Ikpi writes honestly about her experience with depression, anxiety, and Bipolar disorder. She narrates her tortuous journey, as she battles with mania and mental imbalance. Her sincerity spreads across every page, tapping each word as they swell to form this volume.
