Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes

Nikki Grimes' Bronx Masquerade is one of my all-time favorite books.  When I saw she had published a memoir, I put it on our Follett Wish List for the Spring 2020 order. Then we went on Distance Learning, and I promptly forgot I had done so.  Shopping on Amazon, I did a Dory and ordered it for myself for my own "to-read" pile.  Then placed my school order via Follett.  In short, we now have two copies of this.  That being said, I AM SO GLAD BECAUSE I'M GOING TO RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE.

This memoir, like part of Bronx Masquerade, is told in verse.  Grimes tells the story of her childhood--from her earliest memories to high school.  A child who didn't talk much, she filled pages upon pages of notebooks with words, telling no one her secrets except the pen.  From being raped by her stepfather to her mother's severe alcoholism and breaks with reality, this is an incredibly difficult read.  The hardest moment though, was when Grimes' mother, in a drunken, manic high, goes on a cleaning spree and discards all her writing notebooks. I cried. Hard.

Grimes was truly happy in a foster home, where she was encouraged and loved.  But, as is all too common, the system failed her and her sister, putting them back in harm's way with their mother and stepfather or their father, a traveling musician.  It was a high school English teacher who told Grimes to write, to never submit anything less than her best, and to be a voice for those without one.  Now in her 70s, she still remains close to one of her foster brothers and a childhood friend who never deserted her. She continues to write, and her children's biography of Kamala Harris is soon to be published. 

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.