Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for How to Live Free in a Dangerous World by Shayla Lawson

Book Club Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Shayla Lawson has spoken about many other authors as being inspirations to them, especially Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, and Akwaeke Emezi. They even begin the book with a passage from Angela Davis: An Autobiography, which says, "Revisiting this text almost fifty years after I wrote it, I might call it something like 'memoirs of a life dedicated to the quest for freedom.'" If you're familiar with these authors' work, do you see their influences in Shayla's writing? Who are authors that you consider major influences for you as a reader (or writer)?
2. In the opening essay, Shayla writes about Prince and other singers. Did you feel that the rhythmic, lyrical writing in this essay contributed to the reading experience? Do you think their early connection with Prince in their origin story informed their creative outlook as a writer?
3. Shayla's memoir is all about their travels around the world but, after they were diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, they note that they became a different kind of traveler, saying "in sickness, we all become time travelers." How do you see disability and sickness as affecting someone's perception of time? How can a different reality of interacting with the world create an experience of time that isn't so linear? Have you experienced that yourself?
4. In Shayla's essay, "On Love," they delve into a romantic relationship with the Boy in New York that is never fully fulfilled. They say, "Love is different from being in love. I'm an abundant over-lover, but being in love is something I was bad at." What different types of love does Shayla show us throughout their memoir? How do you think that loving someone is different than being in love?
5. Shayla bumps into a man they had dated in two chance meetings–one, on the New York City subway, and another, at a speakeasy in Mexico City. What did you think when you heard this story? Did this remind you of coincidences in your own life?
6. Over the course of their travels, Shayla explores what it means to be both Black and American in a global context, including a look at how capital-B Blackness may not encompass as much as they once thought it did. How does capital-B Blackness both create and exclude? How is knowing the difference between "Blackness" and "blackness" a "crucial travel skill," as Shayla says? How does the difference reflect the array of experiences throughout the African diaspora?
7. In the essay, "Online," Shayla writes about connection and disconnection while on a visit to a castle in France. Do you feel introverted or extroverted when you go online? When was the last time you were in a crowd? Did you feel energized, or shy? Does your smart phone help you feel connected, or disconnected?
8. In the final essay, Shayla writes about freedom and liberation. Did this essay make you think differently about freedom? What do you think of this ending to the journey Shayla takes in this collection?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Tiny Reparations. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.