Gut wrenching. Intense. Overwhelming. Kiese Laymon is a brilliant writer and this memoir will fill you with shock, horror, despair, and hope.

A breathtaking, unsparing, lyrical love letter. It will stay with you long after you're done reading.

Heavy is Kiese Laymon's account of his life as a black man from the South, who struggles with numerous demons throughout his lifetime. As a white woman with black grandchildren, I felt educated in the reading about the plight that young black men face even in our current society, and now I'm more concerned about my black grandson's future. I do sympathize with Kies' issues, and pray that he is able to find peace despite his addictions.

Kie is an entertaining writer, switching back and forth between grammatical English, and his "native" tongue. His story is told as a letter to his Mother. I love the way he was able paint an objective picture for his readers about his life events without injecting judgment on his family and friends. I would love to read "part 2" in a few years!

Kiese Layton can write the hell out of a day. I loved listening to his grandma when she was imparting her words of wisdom on Kiese. I admire the honest of this memoir and how he sent the book to his mother before it was published. I read her letter to Kiese on his website and found that interesting also. He speaks to so many readers who wake up at night afraid they're becoming that parent. Damn, this is the perfect memoir.

What ever choices or challenges you may be forced to make in life, they are NOTHING compared to what it means to exist as a black man in today's America. The implementation of bodycams spawning outrage while watching the evening news, the helplessness at the tragedy felt at a watching, nightly, as lives are changed forever by impetuousness and unwarranted fear. This is Kiese's own story as he narrates to his mother. His writing is raw, but his accomplishments many, and he along with Roxanne Gay constitute the voice of America.

Devastating memoir of a young man and the abuse a black body takes in America. Kiese Laymon’s voice gets in your head and stays with you.

Raw and moving. I am not even sure what to say. Highly recommend. The level of vulnerability involved in writing this memoir is pretty stunning.

Wow. This book punched me in the gut right away and kept it up until I finished. Laymon is a brutal writer. This is my kind of jam.