Be Not Afraid of My Body

By Darius Stewart,

Book cover of Be Not Afraid of My Body: A Lyrical Memoir

Book description

From an exhilarating new voice, a breathtaking memoir about gay desire, Blackness, and growing up. Darius Stewart spent his childhood in the Lonsdale projects of Knoxville, where he grew up navigating school, friendship, and his own family life in a context that often felt perilous. As we learn about his…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Be Not Afraid of My Body as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book made me dizzy with love. This memoir is overflowing with love. Love of the self, love of language, romantic love, familial love, pet love, fear of love, unrequited love, tough love, tender love.

Perhaps most of all, I was taken with the way the author navigates the world so internally, a very solitary yet romantic pursuit of belonging. I kept catching myself leaning forward while reading, propelled through the nonlinear story of Stewart's life by the swelling emotions and incredible control of language.

I spent two weeks reading this book on repeat because the powerful, poetic prose kept…

Want books like Be Not Afraid of My Body?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Be Not Afraid of My Body.

Browse books like Be Not Afraid of My Body

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in gay topics and characters, HIV, and Tennessee?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about gay topics and characters, HIV, and Tennessee.

Gay Topics And Characters Explore 162 books about gay topics and characters
HIV Explore 15 books about HIV
Tennessee Explore 63 books about Tennessee