MY PISCES HEART

A first-person examination of immigration, racism, and oppression around the world.

Neal, author of the novel Notes on Her Color, has traveled to more than 40 countries, where, she writes, “race and gender have never failed to be a factor in how I was contextualized, and how I in turn investigated my surroundings.” Her family moved every several years due to her father’s banking job. One result of her peripatetic childhood was the habit of discarding gifts from friends in other places so as not to feel attached. The book is divided into four parts, each dedicated to a country in which the author has lived as an adult. The sections are prefaced with brief looks at her astrological chart, e.g., “A standout characteristic of those born under the sun sign of Aquarius is their unwillingness to follow the beaten track.” Part 1 takes place in Kudamatsu, Japan, where Neal teaches English for a year. In addition to detailing various aspects of Japan’s history of racism, the author recalls being gifted a basket of skin-bleaching product. She then relocates to Chicago to study art; there, she experiences “white-liberalism shock. White-everything shock.” This is followed by eight years in Australia, where she moves after falling in love with an older white man she meets online. Neal recounts mixed reactions to their interracial relationship—“Love seemed to be the last thing on anyone’s mind except for mine.” The final section takes place in Berlin, where the author has lived since 2016. Neal’s writing can sometimes be dry, but her questing narrative is driven by this powerful point: “Black life enriches every corner of the world. More importantly, Black life deserves to exist in any part of the world, for no reason whatsoever.”

A welcome and fresh perspective on global travel.