Gather Me

Praise

“Gather Me is a beautiful, deeply introspective, and tender journey. Edim is one of the most important nurturers of the Black literary tradition, and now she stands elegantly within it as a writer.”—Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of South to America

“Gather Me is a beautiful portrait of a full life that has been buoyed by an expansive, and ever-growing love for words and for language. What a gift, to have that love reflected outward.”—Hanif Abdurraqib, author of There’s Always This Year

“With candor and tenderness, Glory Edim gathers us as if welcoming us to her porch or stoop or kitchen table, a sacred space where she whispers her poignant testimony and reveals her scars. It’s proof that words—written and spoken—enlighten, restore, heal. This ode to Black scribes is a resting place and a balm.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Renée Watson

“A dramatic life story full of hairpin turns and interwoven leitmotifs that might seem ingeniously crafted if it weren’t all true.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“This is the ultimate book for book lovers. If you aren’t familiar with Glory Edim, you should be.”—theSkimm

“Gather Me offers a tender homage to the books that have cradled Glory Edim through life’s storms, stitching together pieces of her identity with the delicate thread of story.”—Frederick Joseph, New York Times bestselling author of Patriarchy Blues

“If ever there was a piece of art that ritualized the transgressive wonder of tender hand-holding and show-and-tell, it is Gather Me.”—Kiese Laymon, award-winning author of Heavy: An American Memoir

“Glory Edim’s Gather Me is a moving memoir and a powerful testament to Black literature’s capacity to heal, guide, and help us become the best women, mothers, lovers, and daughters we can be.”—Naomi Jackson, author of The Star Side of Bird Hill

“In Gather Me, Edim has written a profound testimony of how to re-emerge and soar in the wake of life’s storms.”—Mahogany L. Browne, author of Chrome Valley

“Gather Me is a book-lover’s memoir. It’s for those of us who have been nourished, challenged, comforted, emboldened, and transformed by books.”—Maggie Smith, New York Times bestselling author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful

“In her plucky, intimate memoir, Glory Edim, the creator of the Well-Read Black Girl book club, tethers the books and authors she has found and loved to her own rocky journey of self-discovery—it’s reader catnip.”—BookPage, starred review

“Heartfelt and absorbing . . . Readers who enjoy coming-of-age memoirs will find much to love.”—Booklist, starred review
 
“This title is a strong and welcome addition to the genre of biblio-memoirs.”—Library Journal

“A love story that attests to the power of literature.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Edim beautifully illuminates how discovering or revisiting formative texts can confer all the warmth and wisdom of chatting with a clutch of aunties.”—Publishers Weekly