CONTENT NOTIFICATIONS
Language: Strong Language,Sexual Content: Strong Sexual Content/Themes,Violence: Self-Harm,Violence: Sexual Assault/Rape
Acceptance: A Memoir
By Emi Nietfeld
Edition
By Emi Nietfeld
Hardcover edition
Publisher Penguin Random House Imprint Penguin Press ISBN9780593489475
Acceptance: A Memoir
27
In stock
SKU
9780593489475J
A luminous, generation-defining memoir of foster care and homelessness, Harvard and Big Tech, examining society’s fixation with resilience—and its cost
As a homeless teenager writing college essays in her rusty Toyota Corolla, Emi Nietfeld was convinced that the Ivy League was the only escape from her dysfunctional childhood. But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative. She had to prove that she was an “overcomer,” made stronger by all that she had endured.
The truth was more complicated. Emi’s mom was a charming hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics but believed in her daughter’s brilliance—unlike the Minnesotan foster family who banned her “pornographic” art history flash cards (of Michelangelo’s David). Emi’s other parent vanished shortly after coming out as trans, a situation few understood in the mid-2000s. Her own past was filled with secrets: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction, and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. And though Emi would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn’t necessarily mean safety.
Both a chronicle of the American Dream and an indictment of it, this searing debut exposes the price of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future. Told with a ribbon of dark humor, Acceptance challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome—and find contentment on your own terms.
As a homeless teenager writing college essays in her rusty Toyota Corolla, Emi Nietfeld was convinced that the Ivy League was the only escape from her dysfunctional childhood. But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative. She had to prove that she was an “overcomer,” made stronger by all that she had endured.
The truth was more complicated. Emi’s mom was a charming hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics but believed in her daughter’s brilliance—unlike the Minnesotan foster family who banned her “pornographic” art history flash cards (of Michelangelo’s David). Emi’s other parent vanished shortly after coming out as trans, a situation few understood in the mid-2000s. Her own past was filled with secrets: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction, and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. And though Emi would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn’t necessarily mean safety.
Both a chronicle of the American Dream and an indictment of it, this searing debut exposes the price of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future. Told with a ribbon of dark humor, Acceptance challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome—and find contentment on your own terms.
Author’s note.
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Nonfiction High Plus (Grades 9 & Up)
Nonfiction High Plus
Nonfiction High Plus (Grades 9 & Up)
For Grades 9 & Up
In today's classroom, Common Core is king and this level helps support the need for quality nonfiction for teen readers. These stimulating informational texts invite teen readers to question assumptions and engage in high-order thinking while providing examples of excellence in research and presentation. The 14 books in this category will attract browsers as well as report-writers. May include some books written for adults.
14 books per Year
$302.40 per Year
Interests
Diversity, Mature Readers, Nonfiction, Biographies, History
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