Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be

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Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be: Essays
Book cover shows a Black woman's torso in a magenta spaghetti strap dress. She is squeezing a peach and has long lavender nails.
First edition book cover
AuthorNichole Perkins
Cover artistAdriana Bellet
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAfrican American women, personal memoir
PublisherGrand Central Publishing
Publication date
2021-08-17 (1st edition)
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages272
ISBN9781538702741
OCLC1246677747
Websitehttps://www.nicholeperkins.com/sometimes-i-trip-on-how-happy-we-could-be

Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be: Essays is a nonfiction essay collection and memoir by American writer Nichole Perkins. The book was released on August 17, 2021, by Grand Central Publishing. It was recommended by Fortune, Bitch, and Buzzfeed News.

Synopsis[edit]

The book is a collection of essays about Nichole Perkins' life experiences, including childhood memories, that relate to her perspective as a Black woman and the influence of pop culture on her development. Essay topics include her family, religion, past experiences of depression, her crush on Niles Crane, and the ways that musical icon Prince's music stoked her earliest feelings of sexual desire. Perkins writes about her sexual experiences and past romantic relationships.[1][2]

Critical reception[edit]

The book received positive reception. Kirkus reviewed the book as "a thoroughly enjoyable journey into the mind of a beloved pop-culture commentator."[1] Publishers Weekly wrote in a similarly positive review: "writing from a place of humility and humor, Perkins paints an exuberant portrait of a Black woman speaking to and from her power. Tender and bright, this intimate work piques nonstop."[2] Sarah Schroeder described it in a starred review for Library Journal, "Memoir readers who appreciate unpredictability, candor, and pop culture will enjoy this book and may very well find themselves thinking about it even weeks after they’ve finished it."[3] Vanessa Willoughby commended Perkins' writing style in Bitch: "Perkins’s strength lies in her first-person narrative voice, which undermines the literary world’s recent dismissal of personal essays as both an enduring genre and a cultural touchstone."[4] Of the book's sexual content, Molly Sprayregen wrote in the Star Tribune, "Above all else, this is a book about desire, and more specifically, shamelessly owning that desire. Utilizing humor, raw honesty, and an intimate writing style with which readers can easily connect, Perkins has crafted a powerful memoir that is well worth the read."[5]

Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be was recommended prior to its release by Bitch, Ms., Elle, Fortune, Goodreads, and BuzzFeed News,[6][7][8][9][10][11] and was selected for Roxane Gay's book club.[12] Perkins adapted a chapter of the book into a segment of the radio show This American Life, which was first broadcast on September 3, 2021.[13][14]

Publication[edit]

  • Perkins, Nichole (2021). Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be. United States: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5387-0274-1.

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be". Kirkus. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  2. ^ a b "Nonfiction Book Review: Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be by Nichole Perkins". PublishersWeekly.com. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  3. ^ Schroeder, Sarah (2021-07-01). "Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be". Library Journal. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  4. ^ Willoughby, Vanessa (2021-08-23). "Nichole Perkins Reclaims Softness As a Superpower". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  5. ^ Sprayregen, Molly (2021-08-19). "Review: Nichole Perkins celebrates Southern Black womanhood". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  6. ^ "28 Summer Books To Get Excited About". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  7. ^ Cruz, Riza (2021-06-02). "Ashley C. Ford on Fran Drescher, 'The Color Purple', and the Book that Changed Her Worldview". ELLE. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  8. ^ "21 more new books coming out in the second half of 2021". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  9. ^ Cybil (2021-08-01). "Readers' Most Anticipated Books of August". Goodreads. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  10. ^ Dionne, Evette (2021-08-02). "13 Books Feminists Should Read in August". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  11. ^ Strand, Karla (2021-08-04). "August 2021 Reads for the Rest of Us - Ms. Magazine". msmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
  12. ^ "Roxane Gay is starting a book club—and you can join". Literary Hub. 2020-12-21. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  13. ^ "This Is Just Some Songs". This American Life. September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "Book Review: 'Sometimes I Trip On How Happy We Could Be' by Nichole Perkins". she lit. January 14, 2022.

External links[edit]

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