Today's issue has several outstanding works of engaging nonfiction. In Gather Me, a memoir that's warm, reflective, and full of literary joy, Glory Edim, creator of the online book club Well-Read Black Girl, leads readers on the journey that shaped her as a writer and a person. In Valley So Low, journalist Jared Sullivan provides a detailed and compelling account of the Kingston, Tenn., coal-ash disaster that spread enormous amounts of slurry over the surrounding land and waterways; and in Ghosts of Crook County, Russell Cobb delves into the treacherous history of corruption and desperation surrounding an oil-rich plot of land in Oklahoma. Plus, for young adults, A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson poetically portrays the messiness and exhilaration of love (of all kinds) as two siblings and their best friend hike the Pacific Crest Trail in an adventure stunningly entwined with Indigenous star stories.
In The Writer's Life, novelist Jeff VanderMeer shares what inspired him to reopen the archives of his beloved Southern Reach trilogy and write a surprise fourth installment, Absolution.