CW: alcoholism, violence, abortion (mentioned), racism, car accident (recounted), physical injury, child abuse, domestic abuse, slavery, murder, police brutality, classism, homophobia (mentioned), infidelity (mentioned), drug use, colonialism, death of a parent (mentioned), grief

I would like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for inviting me to review a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In his debut essay collection, Lawrence Burney recounts the cultural iconography that has shaped his life as well as that of his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

No Sense in Wishing is the kind of nonfiction that feels more like an intimate but laid-back gathering of the minds than a dull rehashing. I instantly connected with Burney's voice and it was very interested to learn more about the cultural moments and icons that has ultimately formed who he is today, especially since it dived into artists and creators that I wouldn't have known about otherwise had I not picked up this book.

That being said, I enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to seeing more future works of his.

late review but I loved this!! loved the social commentary and learning more about Burney, his identity, upbringing, his roots, I went in not knowing much about Burney but walked away feeling like I got such an intimate glimpse of him. really loved the focus on music, love writers that write about music.

A wonderful debut for author Lawrence Burney. I was first drawn to the book's cover and stayed for the memoir via a collection of raw, gritty and honest essays.

But i'm very interesting book about this man's life as he was growing up in baltimore. Every essay in this book told a story about his life and eventually how he got to there. He was always struggling but he never lost sight of his dreams. Did many different?
Types of jobs, just to keep a float and keep his daughter going. The hardest job he had when he was starting his own magazine in New York and he had to leave his daughter behind in Baltimore. It was also amazing how he went to South Africa. Also for a music festival. The title says it all, but as you read this book, you realized We had dreams and he pursued them to the fullest.

Before NO SENSE IN WISHING by Lawrence Burney, I was not familiar with the quick mind, the piercing insights and wide-ranging intelligence of Burney. I was also not familiar with cultural critics, but Burney offers information and the upfront acknowledgement this is his perspective and experience that drives the smart and enjoyable prose. I enjoyed the challenge of roaming wild and running free with this amazing thinker with his articulate, beautiful writing. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

3.5 stars

This was part memoir, part history and the social commentary was very impactful. I wished it had an accompanying playlist, since Burney’s descriptions of the artists and music were very vivid and made me want to listen along. Since I am not a huge music buff, I sometimes got lost in the details and parts of the stories went over my head. Yet, I appreciated how the author described the relevance of each musical style and artist to his own life. My favorite stories were about Burney’s childhood and his journey as a new parent. I also was intrigued with his discussion on conspiracy theories and people wanting to find their ancestral links. The last few chapters moved slowly and I lacked the background to truly understand the narrative, while also feeling like he was intellectually ahead of me and I struggled to keep up. Definitely a unique and interesting book for the right audience!

These essays about music and culture, focusing around Baltimore, are really well-written and very interesting. This was a good way to get exposed to new music I hadn't heard of, and he has good taste. This book is entertaining, informative, and a solid read.

This is such an interesting read. I loved learning about the author’s life, growing up in Baltimore and later becoming a writer. His commentary on identity and growth are beautifully written and capture what I understand many African Americans feel growing up in the US disconnected from their African roots while living as a minority who is too often the victim of mass incarceration and police brutality.

I particularly enjoyed the part where the author traveled to South Africa and his experience at the music festival.

I also enjoyed this book as a native Marylander, who loves Baltimore. Baltimore is often a city that is misunderstood, and I appreciate having Burney’s voice to add to the mix of authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates to bring their personal experiences so people can learn about the city beyond the Wire.

Overall I enjoyed this and would recommend it to others.

I really enjoyed this collection of essays. My fave 2 were “Salutations” and "A Love Letter to Steamed Crabs Piled on a Newspaper".

The prose was beautifully written and Burney sure knows how to drive his feelings home.

30/10 recommend for folks who enjoy nonfiction / memoirs / rap and hip hop history (!)

"No Sense in Wishing" is a unique blend of media/social criticism and memoir. Burney takes the reader on the journey through his life growing up as a young man in Baltimore in the 90s. He combines events from his early days and the media that impacted him during that time, evoking nostalgia and reflection in the reader.

While our childhoods look different, Burney's prose felt deeply nostalgic for me, which speaks to the universal nature of how humanity shapes identity through cultural products. I was right there alongside Burney as he burned CDs from Limewire, discovering new artists every day. I, too, shared the shifting musical taste as I entered into my early 20s, branching into new genres, getting progressively more experimental and "noisy" (why did we all have an Animal Collective-esque phase in 2010?). There was much I couldn't relate to, but Burney's writing helped me to find the place in time to make the book feel like I was reliving some of the same memories with a new perspective.

I was unfamiliar with some of the music/media Burney covers in the book, so I did some Googling and listening as I went. This helped me contextualize his experiences and made the chapters (especially the ones more centered on music) more engaging. I did find myself more drawn to the chapters that leaned more toward memoir, likely since they require less background knowledge to connect to the themes and topics covered. While I did ultimately enjoy how music was used to connect to a universal aspect of growing up or a commentary about society, our differing backgrounds made it more difficult to find as much enjoyment in these chapters. Some of my favorites in the collection were "Glory", "Two Pillars", "Revisiting Ramona", and "Mr. Mooney and the Complexion for the Protection".

Burney's prose is beautiful and a pleasure to read and many of the topics he discusses about growing up as a young black man in America are unfortunately still relevant and important today. If you grew up in the 90s or want to learn more about this sociocultural moment in time, this is a great book to do so!

This powerful collection of essays blends personal storytelling with insightful cultural commentary, exploring Burney’s life, the global Black diaspora, and the traditions that shaped him.

Through electrifying prose, Burney reflects on his experiences in Baltimore and beyond, from his trips to Lagos and Johannesburg to his memories of his mother opening for Gil Scott-Heron. He uses a Maryland crab feast to explore the resilience of Black communities, offering a vivid snapshot of identity, family, and cultural connection.

Each essay in No Sense in Wishing feels like a track on a well-curated album, blending critical reflection with intimate storytelling. Fans of Hanif Abdurraqib, Kiese Laymon, and Isaac Fitzgerald will appreciate Burney’s unapologetic criticism and deep exploration of identity.

This collection is a standout for anyone interested in music, culture, and identity. Highly recommended for its profound insight and emotional resonance.

This novel, while written about music and culture, covers lots of ground regarding systemic racism in America.

While discussing two artists Moose and Scoota he states how they "both recounted experiences with the juvenile justice system—a system created by the State of Maryland, which allocated more funds in Baltimore City to the creation of youth jails than public schools". This is just one example of what is meant by systemic racism.

He goes on to describe "the Baltimore that exists today, the one I grew up in, and the one my parents grew up in are largely similar...domestic steel manufacturing declined rapidly, and, as a result... Bethlehem Steel slowed production, reducing its workforce. Blockbusting—the practice of scaring white people into selling their homes by inspiring fear of other races moving in so the property can, then, be sold for more to the new non-white buyers—became prevalent... the Inner Harbor was a postindustrial wasteland... Those challenges came to a boiling point during my upbringing in the nineties and 2000s, a time when the city was dealing with further divestment in Black communities... the number of children from my generation with hazardous levels of lead poisoning in their systems from toxic paint chips was staggering; our rate of violence always flirted with being the nation's top... In the last decade, while making headlines for having one of the more corrupt police forces in the country, Baltimore has experienced unprecedented levels of murder... all while city officials attempt to accelerate the prospects of gentrification."

"Few homegrown companies in Baltimore can employ enough people to turn the tide. One exception is Under Armour, which unabashedly supports the local police department and has displaced drives of longtime residents to build a corporate oasis, while simultaneously leaning on the city's Black youth to give it cultural legitimacy as a lifestyle brand."

It is plainly obvious to anyone with any sense that America has risen to it's place in the world through systemic racism, by using and abusing people of colour in almost every way possible.

There is so much in this book about music and how it gives a sense of belonging when the powers that be seem to be doing everything they can to hold them down and push them out. But it also gives them a global voice to speak out about the injustices that are continuously happening all around them.

He finishes with one last essay titled Salutations where he writes " Love to the people of Gaza and the West Bank and the Congo and Haiti and Sudan. People whose public executions—being burned alive, their children shot at point-blank range, their only remaining hospitals burned, and their access to nutritional sustenance denied—have been put on Main Street for us all to see, though many will still pretend that they don't see what's in front of them. Instead, they try to find ways to both-sides the situation when, really, it's one side, which is the side of humanity and the side of decency and the side of not displacing people because you have a passionate bloodlust for domination."

The US is known for maligning BIPOC individuals and groups as being violent, but as this selection of essays makes abundantly clear is that they are simply trying to survive in a world where the system is rigged for them to fail, where they are made the scapegoats of the true violent individuals—the white powers that be— who will do and say anything in the pursuit of domination.

Thanks @NetGalley and @AtriaBooks for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I DNF'd this book about 30% in. I liked the writing a lot but just couldn't lock into the insights. I have been struggling with memoirs a lot recently, and will maybe revisit this one when I feel more interested in the form.

Really enjoyed this more than I expected as I usually do not read nonfiction/essays but a personal goal of mine this year was to expand into new genres and I’m very glad I chose to read this one.
Honest collection of essays that read like a memoir. I have my favorites from this collection, but even the ones that don’t stand out as much were enriching and felt true to self. A real look into life growing up in Baltimore to exploring roots in Lagos through music. If Burney has further published work, I will definitely pick up.

No Sense in Wishing is a thoughtful, layered collections of essays that combines anecdotes about Lawrence Burney's life and relationship to Baltimore with analysis of music and culture. I recommend reading this while playing the songs he mentions. I really enjoyed learning about him and reading what he had to say.

A terrific range of essays--to be savored. Burney's writing is assured, elegant, informative, with an allusive charm that draws you in.

Music and memory. These terrific essays are evocative of a time and place that will resonate even with those who did not grow up in Baltimore or who, like me, grew up in a different Baltimore from Burney's.. That's the thing, though about Baltimore. There are different neighborhoods but an overarching unity that's always surprising when it pops up. It's more than the crabs, although that essay made me smile. And this is about more than Baltimore. It's coming of age, it's music that runs through life, it's many things. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'd not heard of Burney and I likely would not have picked this up without the prompt from the publisher. That would have been a mistake. It's terrific.

Lawrence Burney's exhilarating and deeply personal essay collection, "No Sense in Wishing," deftly weaves together cultural critique, memoir, and travelogue.

Burney's writing is insightful, candid, and honest, and his exploration of music, identity, and family is full of emotional depth. The way Burney ties together personal anecdotes with broader cultural discussions about the music scenes in Lagos and Johannesburg, or stories of growing up in Baltimore, makes for a thought-provoking and enjoyable read.

What stands out most is how effortlessly Burney balances storytelling with analysis. He makes each essay feel like a piece of a larger narrative, whether reflecting on the impact of his family relationships or analyzing how Black Americans are able to connect with African music. Rather than just feeling like a collection of random thoughts, these essays build on each other, giving readers a deeper understanding of the author’s life journey.

"No Sense in Wishing" is a fantastic debut that blends intimate reflection and cultural commentary for an incredibly engaging read.

Pre-Read Notes:

I like essays and essays collections and I particularly like them if they're written by people who have something to teach me about the life I don't live. I find essay collections to be these wonderful little doorways into the writer's worlds. Looking forward to this one!

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) I really enjoyed these essays, I learned so much about Rap music that I didn't know and I really felt Burney's sense of being out of place as he traveled around, looking for himself and his reason for living.

These essays are beautifully written and contain some compelling discussions about music and safety. I recommend this collection to readers of nonfiction, memoir, and essays, and fans of Rap music and its history, and discussions of racism in the US.

Favorite Essays:
1. "Salutations"
2. "My King, My Father"
3. "Bruised" and "The Exchange"

A word about the essays:

1. "Introduction" - All the changes laid out here won’t be flowery and neatly concluded with happy endings. Though they do take place, happy endings are not common in the human experience. I want to be reflective of that universal truth. p14 I like realism so much.

2. "A Very Precious Time" “This ya mother? Miss Vickie? Damn, that’s hard,” my homegirl Jasmine reacted. Others responded similarly, and throughout that day I periodically thought to myself, Damn, I guess my mother is kinda cool. p25 I love writers who write so realistically about family.

3. "Glory" - We met in middle school one day when he complimented me on my olive-green leather Phat Farm varsity jacket with the red wool lettering, and, through small talk (and further verification from our mothers), we realized we were kin. My great-grandmother and his grandmother were siblings, both branches of our rural Virginia family tree that split and headed one state up, only occasionally intersecting. p29 I have never once had an experience like this and I think it's just so beautiful and meaningful!

4. "My King, My Father" - On each play, I sounded it out: LU-CI-FAH! YOU’RE MY KIIIING! YOU’RE MY FA-THAH! The brother from earlier appeared to be correct in his assessment. “Fuck,” I said to myself. “I can’t listen to these niggas no more. They worshipping the devil.” I remember rumors like this going around in the 90s when I was growing up. I remember the Tupac conspiracy theory at the time of his murder, which Burney brings up. Such a great topic.

5. "A Love Letter to Steamed Crabs Piled on a Newspaper" - p43 This title is so fantastic. Stories about food that explore more than what we eat, but how we eat it and why-- these are the food stories I like.

6. "Two Pillars" - I wept in anticipation of the dark cloud that, in response to the loss, was forming above us. Some tears that night came from a selfish place —having to accept that my hopes for this musical movement hitting the world stage were at the risk of expiring. p75 Gorgeous descriptions of a time long past but still rippling outward into our culture and emotions. This is an incredibly sad essay, and it feels only inches away.

7. "Revisiting Ramona" - The Baltimore that exists today, the one I grew up in, and the one my parents grew up in are largely similar, which is to say that, for the greater part of five decades now, the city has been perpetually pulling itself out of a hole, trying to make good on the expired promise of becoming a great American metropolis. p80 An unblinking look at a city.

8. "Fake Different" - A great piece about the desire to both blend in and stand out. Young creatives, more than anything, need to be told yes to their ideas, not inundated with hindsight-driven advice. p106

9. "Good Government Job" - A great piece about work and careers and the choices we make to get to where we're going.

10. "Mr. Mooney and the Complexion for the Protection" - I traveled on my own dime, to prove I was dedicated to getting stories by any means and to potentially convince editors that I might be someone they’d want to bring on for more consistent assignments. p111 It's hard and it takes hustle to break into professional writing.

11. "Bruised" - An intense, beautiful, and agonizing piece on the sacrifices parents make to make the money.

12. "The Exchange" - A brilliant story about parenting in a hard world.

13. "Welcome Home" - When we found the entrance, we were greeted by a young man and a woman who asked whom we were there to see and gestured to the staircase behind them. It was sketchy but in the most delightful way, like we were seconds away from walking into a sex party or an underground gambling ring. p155 Gorgeous descriptions drew me in and kept me there.

14. "Time is Very Precious" - n.a.

15. "MIKE'S WORLD" - We’re all suffering, even those of us who refuse to say so. Perhaps the hope is that the constant onslaught of misery will somehow miraculously vanish. I suspect that won’t be the case. And since it won’t be the case, we are, more than at any other point my memory can produce, in desperate need of our community . Even when sulking feels like the easier option. p179

16. "Salutations" - This is my favorite piece, beautiful and nostalgic.


Notes:
1. content notes: violence against Black people, gaslighting, shootings, murder

Thank you to the author Lawrence Burney, publishers Atria Books, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of NO SENSE IN WISHING. All views are mine.

Honest and raw. Unafraid to be vulnerable. Good writing and Mr. Burney has a bright future.He shares his thoughts that seemingly, one of his age group wouldn’t want to disclose, but he puts it out there. Reminds me a little of D. Watkins, which of course is high praise. I’ll be keeping my eyes on Mr. Burney. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for an advanced DRC. Book drops July 08, 2025