Don't let it get you down : a memoir of essays on race, gender, and the body

**A “brutal, beautifully rendered” (__The New York Times Book Review__) collection of essays that offers poignant reflections on living between society’s most charged, politicized, and intractable polar spaces—between black and white, rich and poor, thin and fat.** Savala Nolan knows what it means to live in the in-between. Descended from a Black and Mexican father and a white mother, Nolan’s mixed-race identity is obvious, for better and worse. At her mother’s encouragement, she began her first diet at the age of three and has been both fat and painfully thin throughout her life. She has experienced both the discomfort of generational poverty and the ease of wealth and privilege. It is these liminal spaces—of race, class, and body type—that the essays in __Don’t Let It Get You Down__ excavate, presenting a clear and nuanced understanding of our society’s most intractable points of tension. The twelve essays that comprise this collection are rich with “gorgeous prose” (Nadia Owusu, author of __Aftershocks__) and are as humorous and as full of Nolan’s appetites as they are of anxiety. The result is lyrical and magnetic. In “On Dating White Guys While Me,” Nolan realizes her early romantic pursuits of rich, preppy white guys weren’t about preference but about self-erasure. In the titular essay “Don’t Let it Get You Down,” we traverse the cyclical richness and sorrow of being Black in America as Black children face police brutality, “large Black females” encounter unique stigma, and Black men carry the weight of other people’s fear. In “Bad Education,” we see how women learn to internalize rage and accept violence to participate in our own culture. And in “To Wit and Also,” we meet Filliss, Grace, and Peggy, the enslaved women owned by Nolan’s white ancestors, reckoning with the knowledge that America’s original sin lives intimately within our present stories. Over and over again, Nolan reminds us that our true identities are often most authentically lived not in the black and white, but in the grey of the in-between. Perfect for fans of __Heavy__ by Kiese Laymon and __Bad Feminist__ by Roxane Gay, __Don’t Let It Get You Down__ delivers a “deeply personal insight” (Layla F. Saad, __New York Times__ bestselling author of __Me and White Supremacy__) on race, class, bodies, and gender in America today. "An incisive and vulnerable yet powerful and provocative collection of essays, Savala offers poignant reflections on living between society's most charged, politicized, and intractably polar spaces: between black and white, between rich and poor, between thin and fat - as a woman. The daughter of an Afro-Latinx father and a white mother, Savala's light complexion has always contrast her kinky hair and broad nose to embody what old folks used to call "a whole lot of yellow wasted." With her mother's beckoning, she began her first diet at the age of three and has been nearly skeletal and truly fat, multiple times. She has lived in poverty and had an elite education, with regular access to wealth and privilege. She has been in the in between. It is these liminal spaces - the living in the in-between of race, class and body type that gives the essays in Nearly, Not Quite their strikingly clear and refreshing point of view on the defining tension points in our culture. Each of the twelve essays, that comprises this collection are rife with unforgettable and insightful anecdotes, and are as humorous and as full of Savala's appetites as they are of anxieties. The result is a lyrical and magnetic read. In "On Dating White Guys While Me," Savala realizes her early romantic pursuits of rich, preppy white guys wasn't about preference, but about self-erasure. In "Don't Let it Get You Down" we traverse the beauty and pain of being Black in America as men of color face police brutality and "large Black females" are ignored in hospital waiting rooms. Savala offers an angle to inequities that is as deft as it is lyrical. In "Bad Education" we mine how women learn to internalize violence and rage in hopes of truly having power. And in "To Wit and Also" we meet Filliss, Peggy, and Grace the enslaved women owned by her ancestors, reckoning with how America's original sin lives intimately within our stories. Over and over again, Savala reminds readers that our true identities are often most authentically lived not in the black and white in the grey, in the in-between. Perfect for fans of Heavy by Kiese Laymon and Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, this book delivers a fresh perspective on race, class, bodies, and gender, that is both an entertaining and engaging addition to the ongoing social and cultural conversation"-- Provided by publisher A powerful and provocative collection of essays that offers poignant reflections on living between societys most charged, politicized, and intractably polar spacesbetween black and white, rich and poor, thin and fat. Savala Nolan knows what it means to live in the in-between. Descended from a Black and Mexican father and a white mother, Nolans mixed-race identity is obvious, for better and worse. At her mothers encouragement, she began her first diet at the age of three and has been both fat and painfully thin throughout her life. She has experienced both the discomfort of generational poverty and the ease of wealth and privilege. It is these liminal spacesof race, class, and body typethat the essays in Dont Let It Get You Down excavate, presenting a clear and nuanced understanding of our societys most intractable points of tension. The twelve essays that comprise this collection are rich with unforgettable anecdotes and are as humorous and as full of Nolans appetites as they are of anxieties. The result is lyrical and magnetic. In On Dating White Guys While Me, Nolan realizes her early romantic pursuits of rich, preppy white guys werent about preference, but about self-erasure. In the titular essay Dont Let it Get You Down, we traverse the cyclical richness and sorrow of being Black in America as Black children face police brutality, large Black females encounter unique stigma, and Black men carry the weight of other peoples fear. In Bad Education, we see how women learn to internalize rage and accept violence in order to participate in our culture. And in To Wit and Also we meet Filliss, Grace, and Peggy, the enslaved women owned by Nolans white ancestors, reckoning with the knowledge that Americas original sin lives intimately within our present stories. Over and over again, Nolan reminds us that our true identities are often most authentically lived not in the black and white, but in the grey of the in-between. Perfect for fans of Heavy by Kiese Laymon and Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, Dont Let It Get You Down delivers an essential perspective on race, class, bodies, and gender in America today.