Breakaway Books

Authored by Glory Edim; Published October 2024; Memoir

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Just about the only nonfiction books that I read now are memoirs, and Gather Me is a perfect example of why. Glory Edim is brave and wise enough to write a vulnerable, honest recounting of her life experiences, and after reading it, I can’t help but admire her.

The memoir follows Glory’s life as she grows up in the United States, a first generation immigrant with Nigerian parents. Glory studies and works as her parents separate, her father returns to Nigeria, and her mother suffers a debilitating mental illness. Through it all, Glory highlights how much the words of the authors she loves have impacted her.

This is a love letter to words and books, so I obviously loved that aspect of the memoir. But more than that, I deeply connected to the ways that Glory connected to books, always looking for insights into her own life from the authors. She carries around lessons from some of the great authors of our time, and it reminds me of all the words that I still carry around from the books that I’ve read. The words that we have in our heads have the ability to change us profoundly, whether we realize it or not.

Her experience as a first generation American is messy and raw, and I couldn’t help but admire the honesty with which she tells it. Family mental health issues and the African cultures that refuse to recognize them brought further complication and nuance to her experience. Over and over, throughout her recounting of her somewhat tumultuous family life, I was struck by Glory’s generous spirit, about the kindness she is able to show to people who were anything but kind to her. She sets an example that we could all be proud to follows.

Gather Me was a heartening and beautiful read, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to connect with a fellow book lover.