Sink

By Joseph Earl Thomas,

Book cover of Sink

Book description

"A brilliant and brilliantly different" (Kiese Laymon), wrenching and redemptive coming-of-age memoir about the difficulty of growing up in a hazardous home and the glory of finding salvation in geek culture. Stranded within an ever-shifting family's desperate but volatile attempts to love, saddled with a mercurial mother mired in crack…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Sink as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Now that both of my kids have enrolled in college, I often wonder: What if I hadn't raised them as most of the conventional suburban Chinese parents did? What if I had indulged in drinking, partying, writing poetry, and eloping with crazy artists? Would I have ruined them?

The idea of the road not taken drew me to Sink. Look at the dysfunctional household Joey grew up in: "all his family's problems...crack + angry man." But thanks to geek culture's interconnected worlds and ability to diminish the economic disparities between different social groups, Joey grew up with self-awareness, confidence,…

If you love Sink...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest By Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like Sink?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Sink.

Browse books like Sink

Book cover of Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy
Book cover of Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food
Book cover of Animal Crackers: Stories

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,588

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Sink, you might also like...

Book cover of Brother. Do. You. Love. Me.

Brother. Do. You. Love. Me. By Manni Coe, Reuben Coe (illustrator),

Brother. Do. You. Love. Me. is a true story of brotherly love overcoming all. Reuben, who has Down's syndrome, was trapped in a care home during the pandemic, spiralling deeper into a non-verbal depression. From isolation and in desperation, he sent his older brother Manni a text, "brother. do. you.…

Book cover of Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

Me and The Times By Robert W. Stock,

Me and The Times offers a fresh perspective on those pre-internet days when the Sunday sections of The New York Times shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation. Starting in 1967, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections over 30 years, innovating and troublemaking all the way.

His memoir is…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in geeks, toxic masculinity, and coming of age?

Geeks 22 books
Coming Of Age 1,390 books