Ohhhhhh my god. There is no writer whose work I admire more than Carmen Maria Machado's. This is nonfiction, so it's not quite the same as reading her fiction, but her style is all over this, which means I still highly recommend this for people who've read her other work. The form is incredible -- playing with the chapter/section headings in this was so smart. I feel like I should have a lot more to say about this, but the truth is that it is endearingly honest and captivating. It's a narrative that doesn't have all the answers, and is somehow more complete that way. Read this. It is so important.

This book begins: "If you need this book, it is for you." I am not quite the person Machado had in mind while writing this, but it is for me all the same. I simultaneously want this book nowhere near me and want it within arm's reach at all times. When I read, I often mark things I like with flag post-its (mostly to avoid highlighting the text or making pen notes in the margins), and I have never marked so many things in any book, ever. This is a narrative that validates so many others. In other words, I was deeply moved.