I really, really have tried to like this book, but I am just finding Lawson‘s ramblings too exhausting and pointless. I love humorous memoirs (Sedaris, for example), but this just didn‘t work for me. It was like listening to a little kid making up a story. You‘re trying to follow along, but the child keeps getting distracted and adding to a now endless run-on sentence.

Should be done with this tonight. Life and other hurdles keep sidetracking me. I honestly feel for all the characters in this collection. The privilege of freedom is not one everyone gets to enjoy and we so often take for granted things as trivial as being able to draw our curtains whenever we feel like it. You will get this if you read this poignant book narrating how the people in North Korea are faced with obedience every single day.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was such an inspirational read. I pulled this memoir out of my book shelf and in it was the receipt showing I had bought it almost exactly a year ago to the day I started it. Serendipity once again working it‘s way into my life. This was the perfect time to delve into such an honest account of hardship, racism, complicated relationships, and overcoming the toughest challenges with newfound strength and wisdom.