In a reading done by Politics and Prose, Kiese Laymon reads an excerpt from his book Heavy. Kiese Laymon himself read excerpts from his books and answer questions from the audience at his reading. In the reading, he read an excerpt about his experience dating a white girl when he was a senior in high school. He is honest when recounting how his mother, being deeply disapproved, berates and beats him for being in such a relationship. When asked by the audience if Laymon likes his mother, he responds, “… I do not like the fact that sometimes my mom beat and abuse me under the auspice of trying to stop me from getting beaten and abused by white people… I do like my mom but like every child in this nation, some days I don’t like some of the things my mama has done to herself or to me.” Laymon also does not shy away from the fact that he was also guilty of following his mother’s footsteps in his romantic relationship, even though he abused in a different way. I really appreciated that Laymon was extremely honest in his memoir. He recognizes and vocalizes the flaws of people he loved and himself. Yet, he still loves them and works to reconcile those flaws.
Laymon, K. [Politics and Prose]. (2018, December 18). Kiese Laymon, “Heavy: An American Memoir” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw2k_60xb-c&t=253s