Home Books I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

by Michael Arceneaux

Atria Books ·2020 ·240 pages ·Essays
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
44/99
Near the Top

52/99

Critics

Maybe Someday

37/99

Readers

n/a

Scholars

38/99

Rating

66/99

Volume

19/99

Rating

55/99

Volume

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About This Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of I Can't Date Jesus, which Vogue called "a piece of personal and cultural storytelling that is as fun as it is illuminating," comes a wry and insightful essay collection that explores the financial and emotional cost of chasing your dreams. Ever since Oprah Winfrey told the 2007 graduating class of Howard University, "Don't be afraid," Michael Arceneaux has been scared to death. You should never do the opposite of what Oprah instructs you to do, but when you don't have her pocket change, how can you not be terrified of the consequences of pursuing your dreams? Arceneaux has never shied away from discussing his struggles with debt, but in I Don't Want to Die Poor, he reveals the extent to which it has an impact on every facet of his life—how he dates; how he seeks medical care (or in some cases, is unable to); how he wrestles with the question of whether or not he should have chosen a more financially secure path; and finally, how he has dealt with his "dream" turning into an ongoing nightmare as he realizes one bad decision could unravel all that he's earned. You know, actual "economic anxiety." I Don't Want to Die Poor is an unforgettable and relatable examination about what it's like leading a life that often feels out of your control.


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Reviews

"Making Michael Arceneaux's I Don't Want to Die Poor required reading in high schools across the country would help a lot of young people think twice about the promise that going to college at any cost is the only path to upward social mobility ..."

Gabino Iglesias· NPR Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Journalist and cultural critic Arceneaux...offers another unflinchingly smart and wickedly funny collection of essays ..."

Courtney Eathorne· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Arceneaux also points out that he knows the book will attract criticism from those who think he should have made other, less expensive choices in the past."

Clayton Delery· The New York Journal of Books Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Student loan debt is not a death sentence but an indictment of broken systems and the unjust, corrupt institutions that keep them alive."

Vanessa Willoughby· BookPage Read review ↗ Near the Top

"In an often funny, and sometimes moving, collection of essays, Arceneaux...explores a defining decision in his life: financing his Howard University communications degree through private student loans ..."

Publishers Weekly Near the Top

"A mixed bag of contemporary cultural insight and cautionary introspection on the universal issue of student loan debt."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

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