Another Word for Love

Reviews

"Intricate and exhilarating . . . An exquisite, soulful must-read."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Another Word for Love recounts a life marked by profound uncertainty—mother, home, self as ephemeral as fog. And yet out of this morass emerges Carvell Wallace’s voice, clear and sharp as glass—and this book of uncommon brilliance and grace. A classic is born.”
—Danzy Senna, author of Colored Television

“One of the most soulfully crafted memoirs I’ve ever read. I couldn’t figure out how Carvell Wallace blurred time, region, care, and sexuality into something so different from anything I’ve read before"
—Kiese Laymon, author of Long Division

"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 devastating book vibrates with a rare power—the kind of power that will help save lives. Because not only is it a brilliant evocation of the effects of marginalization on generation after generation, it is the story of how hope persists, and nourishes, despite what has come before. An unforgettable treatise on pain—and love. This book is a gift.”
—Hilton Als, author of My Pinup

"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!

"Wallace writes with specificity and generosity about his own particular life, but in cultivating love and generosity for himself and the people around him, he manages somehow to extend the same abundant generosity to his reader. In a book filled with stories--in language that is poetic, profane, philosophical, and funny--what I will remember most is the extraordinary tenderness Wallace brings forth from stony places. A beautiful, melancholy, cathartic anthem for these hard years."
—Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility

“Carvell Wallace's Another Word For Love is more than a memoir, it is a map of how to get free, a dare to be fully awake to the world, a receipt of a life lived in resistance, an invitation to recover wholly and bravely. An inspired and ferocious book from beginning to end.”
—Jessica Hopper, author of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic

“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

"A gripping tour through one man's life and mind that is full of passion, humor, and heartbreak. Wallace's debut is no less than a guide for living, an inquiry into masculinity, fatherhood, and intimacy that brims with humility and insight."
—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

"Another Word for Love is brimming with insight, poetry, and care. Wallace is a staggeringly talented storyteller whose attention to both narrative and emotional detail is awe-inspiring. This is one to read and then reread."
—Morgan Parker, author of You Get What You Pay For