ARC Review: “Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me” by Glory Edim

“Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me” by Glory Edim

Publishing Date: October 29, 2024

Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction

Page Length: 288 pages (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

For Glory Edim, that “friend of my mind” is books. Edim, who grew up in Virginia to Nigerian immigrant parents, started the popular Well-Read Black Girl book club at age thirty, but her love of books stretches far to public libraries alongside her little brothers after elementary school while her mother was working; to high school librairies where she discovered books she wasn’t being taught in class; to dorm rooms and airplanes and subway rides—and, eventually, to a community of half a million other readers.

When Edim’s father moved back to Nigeria while she was still a child, she and her brothers were left with a single mother and little money, often finding a safe space at their local library. Books were where Edim found community, and as she grew older, she discovered the Black writers whose words would forever change her Nikki Giovanni through children’s poetry cassettes; Maya Angelou through a critical high school English teacher; Toni Morrison while attending Morrison’s alma mater, Howard University; Audre Lorde on a flight to Nigeria. In prose full of both joy and heartbreak, Edim recounts how these writers and so many others helped her to value to find her own voice when her mother lost hers, to trust her feelings when her father remarried, to create bonds with other Black women and uplift their own stories.

Gather Me is a glowing testament to the power of representation and the lasting impact of literature to gather our disparate parts and put them back together.

Review:

I’ve been following Well Read Black Girl (WRBG) on Instagram and I love the diverse, multicultural books that they promote for their online book club. I commend Glory Edim for creating a space to spotlight Black women’s literature and sharing on such a huge platform. I was such a fan of her previous book that focused on a wonderful collection of essays by black women (actresses, authors, poets) expressing their love for literature and reading. When I heard she was releasing a memoir I was excited to delve into Edim’s own story of why she created WRBG and her own personal connection with reading.

Reading this memoir felt like reading someone’s diary while also being a deeply personal love letter to books. It is a testament to how books can open up a world of wonders for each reader and how they can teach us, nurture us, and help us to discover brand new things.

“Books have been my ladder, my stepping-stones, my therapist, my teacher, my medicine, my parents , my religion, my lover, my fool, my instructional manual for life.”

I enjoyed how each chapter would reference a few specific book titles and how the lessons from those books tied into Edim’s life at that period. She tells readers how she became introduced to reading from a young age and follow her life from her childhood all the way to present day. It was a heartwarming and emotional read as Edim details her struggles of coming-of-age, being a child of divorce, dealing with mental illness from a loved one, and so much more. It’s written in such a conversational tone that is easy to digest but also feels as if you’re talking to a close friend.

Reading Edim’s memoir make me take away new lessons from some of the books that she and I have both read as well as think more deeply about novels that have had an impact on my own life. This memoir shows how literature can shape us as individuals as well have a better understanding of the world around us. I think this book will resonate with many readers especially Black women (as it did for me). I felt seen through reading Edim’s words and I feel Gather Me will inspire readers to overcome their own struggles and inspire readers to go beyond their reading comfort zones.

Final Verdict: