Kiese Laymon generally writes essays and articles for sites like ESPN, Gawker, and the New York Times. Prior to the release of Heavy: An American Memoir in 2018, he'd only written two books, both of which released in 2013: a novel called Long Division and a memoir called How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America (both of which received rave reviews and quite a few notable awards). Heavy represents Laymon's third book and his second memoir. He tells his story, starting with his childhood in Mississippi as a black kid. He explores his childhood, his young adulthood, and ends with his life as a college professor in New York. His life is hard -- he deals with things like abuse and anorexia and obesity. Ultimately, though, Laymon overcomes this to lead a reasonably happy life.
Heavy is a truly exceptional book; its reviews indicate as much. Users on Amazon gave the novel a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. The New York Times enjoyed the book, writing: "Heavy is a gorgeous, gutting book that’s fueled by candor yet freighted with ambivalence" and called the book "generous" and "searching." The novel won the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Although it wasn't fabulously financially successful, Heavy was very critically successful.
