Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir

Description

The extraordinary, Kirkus Prize-winning memoir about Blackness, masculinity and addiction. Winner, Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction, 2021 Named one of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2021 Named one of Apple's Best Books of the Year, 2021 Punch Me Up to the Gods introduces a powerful new talent in Brian Broome, whose early years growing up in Ohio as a dark-skinned Black boy harbouring crrushes on other boys propel forward this gorgeous, aching, and unforgettable debut. Brian's recounting of his experiences - in all their cringe-worthy, hilarious, and heartbreaking glory - reveal a perpetual outsider awkwardly squirming to find his way in. A no-nonsense mother and broken father play crucial roles in our misfit's origin story. But it is Brian's voice in the retelling that shows the true depth of vulnerability for young, queer Black boys that is often quietly near to bursting at the seams. Universally resonant and thought-provokingly specific, Punch Me Up to the Gods is playful, poignant, and wholly original. Broome's writing brims with swagger and sensitivity, bringing an exquisite and fresh voice to ongoing cultural conversations about racism and homophobia.

BRIAN BROOME, a poet and screenwriter, is K. Leroy Irvis Fellow and instructor in the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh. He has been a finalist in The Moth storytelling competition and won the grand prize in Carnegie Mellon University's Martin Luther King Writing Awards. He also won a VANN Award from the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation for journalism in 2019. He lives in Pittsburgh.