Welcome to Litsy!

It took me all month to read this just because I knew the ending, and it‘s so easy to judge in hindsight. I‘m glad I persevered though because the afterword was excellent. #NonfictionNovember

#BookReport

I picked up the tagged book after reading an interview she did. I am glad I read it but reviewing it would be impossible. The other finish this week was a balm of romantic nonsense to counteract the deep theme of the other. I am caught up on all my buddy reads but decided Grapes is too much for now. Still no progress on JA‘s bookshelf.

Starting the day that President Joe Biden announces he is not running for a second term, VP Kamala Harris takes the reader through probably the most historic presidential campaigns in history.
I listened to it during a particularly rough patch with the current administration so it was a bit like pouring salt in the wound, but it was interesting to learn what it took for Harris & her team to take a campaign from 0 to 100 in no time.

Listening to this audiobook was a bit like poking at a wound that hasn‘t fully healed yet but it was still an interesting look behind the scenes from Kamala‘s perspective. I am still mourning for what could have been but I am glad I was persuaded to give this a try.

Soft pick because I've struggled with the writing style and how the book skips around. But that does actually fit the author and her life. It's a rough memoir, an open one. It must have taken a lot of courage, energy and heart to write all this down. An eye-opener, for sure, and a important voice to listen to.

@TheAromaOfBooks #DoubleSpin

I have no words that can adequately review this memoir. A mother who lost her only two sons to suicide…beyond unimaginable. So I quoted some of her own words. It‘s the best I can muster. Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yiyun Li had endured more in her life than I can fathom and yet she is able to go on. This book about the deaths by suicide of both of her sons years apart is told matter of factly but that doesn‘t make it emotionless. For me it amplified the sentences that hit me hard, as if they snuck up on you. Thoughtful and reflective and like nothing I have read before.

Two quotes from my reading this morning:

From Kamala‘s mother
“Kamala, don‘t ever let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are.”

From Angela Merkel

“Don‘t you ever let them make you cry.”

#TodayILearned #NFN

It was so nice to listen to Kamala again.

I started reading this book on November 2, 2025