Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me

by Glory Edim

Books have been my ladder, my stepping-stones, my therapist, my teacher, my medicine, my parents, my religion, my lover, my fool, my instructional manual for life.

Books gave me my direction. My career. My community. My chosen family. My purpose.

Reader, I kept the shirt, but not the man.

Sometimes, that is the best we can salvage of a life with another.

This grace was not something I planned on or anticipated.

The nourishment we received went beyond satisfying our hunger.

even as a child I could sense his restlessness, and it sometimes made me uneasy.

Great things often start off small. Don’t waste a moment in self-doubt. Try to be optimistic even when things look hopeless.