Why read No Ashes in the Fire?

Book cover of No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America

Book description

From a leading journalist and activist comes a brave, beautifully wrought memoir.

When Darnell Moore was fourteen, three boys from his neighborhood tried to set him on fire. They cornered him while he was walking home from school, harassed him because they thought he was gay, and poured a jug…

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Why read it?

1 author picked No Ashes in the Fire as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Satya Doyle Byock

Author

It’s been years now since I read Moore’s story, but I find many of the scenes come back to me easily and in unexpected moments.

This book is a beautifully written, captivating story of a Black gay man finding himself and caring for himself in Quarterlife. We see him longing for a father who disappeared early, making sense of lust and dating, navigating a difficult neighborhood, commuting to school, and then experiencing college.

I loved this book and recommend it a lot.

From Satya's list on quarterlife beyond the crisis.