Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award–winning journalist Trymaine Lee first came onto my radar through his vital reporting in The 1619 Project. So when I had the opportunity to request an advanced reader’s copy of his debut book A Thousand Ways to Die, I didn’t hesitate.

This book left a mark on me.

Lee unpacks the painful truths about America’s gun industry. He writes about where weapons are manufactured, how they end up in our neighborhoods, and the cracks in the system that allow violence to flourish. What elevates this book beyond statistics and case studies is Lee’s deep humanity. As a Black journalist, he doesn’t simply report stories. It's abundantly clear that he builds relationships with the people behind them, many of whom are navigating unimaginable grief.

In one of the most harrowing passages, Lee recalls interviewing an elder in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. As she struggled to speak through tears, describing her escape from a flooding attic and the dead baby she saw floating in the water, Lee writes that he couldn’t stop his own tears from falling. That moment gutted me.

As a therapist serving my community, I understand the toll that vicarious trauma takes. Lee’s honesty about how this work has shaped—and shaken—him is courageous. It means even more to me that Lee writes from the vantage point of Black manhood and Black fatherhood. His love for his daughter is a central through line in the narrative.

Lee writes not just about gun violence’s impact on the Black community, but about how it lives in his body, his lineage, and his daily reality as a father. And in prose that is both lyrical and clear-eyed, he reminds us what bearing witness really looks like:

“I’d collected strips of construction paper for a grim kaleidoscope that contorted American life and death. And I remember all the hues, vividly.”

This book is not easy—but it is essential. Trymaine Lee doesn’t just tell us the truth. He invites us to hold it, mourn it, and push forward anyway, armed with memory, integrity, and love.

A beautiful and important work that show cases so much. I was heartbroken at parts but also furious. A truly emotive author.

This was a beautiful book. I knew of the Author's work and his namesake initially boasted interest for me, followed closely by the cover and title. As a NOLA native, his chapters on the inner horrors post Katrina was much more eye opening than expected. Trymaine gives added voice to those hardened and silenced through violence and racism. Although in moments I felt a bit whip lashed when he kept jumping in between stories, the point was made well enough and the heart break for the truth is open and honest.