Scenes of Instruction: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Lessons in Autobiography, Gender, and Race
Review: Michael Awkward's memoir is instructive--in numerous ways: it contains insights on how to write memoirs, especially if one is a scholar/critical theorist; it instructs us on the intersection of race and gender (Awkward is a self-described black male feminist--raised in Philadelphia); and it shows us how we might bring postmodern forms of analysis to the stories we have lived. The central "other" in Awkward's book is his mother. With great insight, he shares the pain of her life, and his related pain, with the reader. This book is a powerful gift; I have learned much from it.