Must read 🏆⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The most resilient woman ever navigates childhood trauma and bullying while remaining optimistic in unimaginable circumstances. Kissing Asphalt by Delicia Niami is a biography demonstrating her incredible resilience in the face of abuse from trusted allies and strangers. The story has many characters as the Niamis move around, but Delicia and her mother are the leads in each others’ woes and triumphs. Delicia experiences trauma making her ashamed and fearful. Kissing Asphalt is about fighting feelings that keep you suffering in the past, and embracing the wonderful things bullies wanted you to hide from yourself. It is the first in Delicia’s ResiliantAF trilogy. Rather than following a single chronological stream, the biography follows the flow of relationships in Delicia’s life. The whole story takes place from Delicia’s birth until late high school. A section shares one character’s relationship and experiences with Delicia from introduction to conflict and resolution, then jumping to another person. As a result, the stories are not chronological, skipping forward and backward a few days or years. Once understood, this is a fantastic way to represent character relationships. Overall, the book was a phenomenal read that explained well the good and bad coping mechanisms used by the author to deal with her past. I highly recommend this book, especially for people who have never enjoyed a biography. Kissing Asphalt can be emotionally heavy because of the volume and severity of traumatic events. Delicia did a fantastic job by speaking matter-of-factly about her experiences and their impacts. Delicia’s language made the story easier to digest. Giving readers detailed descriptions of her perpetrators’ and friends’ characteristics and lifestyles made their intertwining stories feel more insidious. Readers see the juxtaposition between the friendly and terrifying sides of people as Delicia did in her youth. It can be sickening to see relationships continue after abuses have occurred. Readers then remember that Delicia is a child whose abusers use knowledge of her desires and fears to maintain their relationships with her. Mature readers who binge or who like many breaks will enjoy the novel’s compilation of short stories. Delicia has a unique writing voice that immerses readers without disturbing them. The short stories were fast-paced with impressive character development, even on the characters readers barely saw. Kissing Asphalt is professionally edited with a satisfying ending that makes readers crave more. Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse Reedsy Discovery ..REVIEWED BY