I FINALLY BOUGHT SOME JORDANS

A bestselling author muses on reaching maturity in an era of decline and chaos.

In this follow-up to I Don’t Want To Die Poor and I Can’t Date Jesus, Arceneaux reflects on being a “geriatric” Black millennial who has survived—his trademark humor darker but more or less intact—the many upheavals of the early 21st century. One of the main disrupters he explores is the pandemic, which left him reeling from the death and disorder it brought into his life. In response, he sought normalcy however he could, even if it meant defying lockdown orders to visit his barber. Gallows humor on display, he writes, “I [got] fades to feel alive.” While the pandemic took away part of his 30s, a six-figure debt that included student loans had overwhelmed him in his 20s. His success as a writer helped get him out of debt, but racism and climate change stood in the way of achieving other goals, such as home ownership. Unless he found a house in a white neighborhood and “put pictures of white people in the house should I want to sell it,” his property would be regarded as less valuable. If he chose to settle in Los Angeles, he would be in a region vulnerable to earthquakes, flooding, and extreme drought. Arceneaux finds relief from anxiety through art, especially the music of Beyoncé, his “Lord and Gyrator.” He may be growing older in unforgiving times, but her music still reminds him that “there is so much joy and life to have, no matter the age.” Arceneaux’s latest essays are still as pointed and funny as those from his earlier books. At the same time, they also reflect the angst of a young generation forced to navigate the unprecedented new realities of a changing planet.

A mordantly irreverent essay collection.