Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Publishes
May 14, 2024
272 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
A transformative memoir that reimagines the conventions of love and posits a radical vision for healing.
In Another Word for Love, Carvell Wallace excavates layers of his own history, situated in the struggles and beauty of growing up Black and queer in America.
Wallace is an award-winning journalist who has built his career on writing unforgettable profiles, bringing a provocative and engaged sensitivity to his subjects. Now he turns the focus on himself, examining his own life and the circumstances that frame it—to make sense of seeking refuge from homelessness with a young single mother, living in a ghostly white Pennsylvania town, becoming a partner and parent, raising two teenagers in what feels like a collapsing world.
With courage, vulnerability, and a remarkable expansiveness of spirit—not to mention a thrilling, and unrivaled, storytelling verve—Another Word for Love makes an irresistible case for life, healing, the fullness of our humanity, and, of course, love. It could be called a theory of life itself—a theory of being that will leave you open to the wonder of the world.
"Intricate and exhilarating ... An exquisite, soulful must-read."
―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In this stunning self-portrait, journalist Wallace (The Sixth Man) examines the role of love in his life...The elliptical chapters don't skimp on struggle (including a harrowing, near-deadly confrontation with L.A. police), but what elevates the narrative is Wallace's capacity for forgiveness and his virtuosic—but never indulgent—prose. This profoundly compassionate volume hugs the reader tightly and doesn't let go." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This is a remarkable book by one of the finest young writers I've come across in many years. An insightful work by a young scribe of deep talent, whose courage and ingenuity is inspirational."
―James McBride, author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
"Carvell Wallace's Another Word For Love moves us symphonically, presenting an orchestra of moving parts, sounds, ideas, exquisite images to the reader as if to a beloved. It gives us a nearly unprecedented vision of life. It is one of the most beautiful memoirs I've ever read."
―Kaveh Akbar, author of Martyr!
"This book was like holding hands with a friend while they tell me everything I ever wanted to know in all the ways I never expected to find out. Every page was worth reading, and I'm sure I'll read them all again and again."
―Ashley C. Ford, author of Somebody's Daughter
This information about Another Word for Love was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Carvell Wallace grew up between Southwestern PA, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. He attended Tisch School for the Arts and worked as a stage actor before spending fifteen years in direct service youth non-profits. He has covered arts, entertainment, music, culture, race, sports, and parenting for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Slate, GQ, Pitchfork, MTV News and others. As a podcast host, he has been nominated for a Peabody and won a Kaleidoscope Award and was the Slate parenting advice columnist. He is the co-author of the New York Times best-selling basketball memoir The Sixth Man with Andre Iguodala. He lives in Oakland and has two adult children, a comfortable couch, and a lot of plants.
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