Ep. 170 The Undying by Anne Boyer — The Stacks Book Club (Mychal Denzel Smith)

It’s time for another installment of The Stacks Book Club. This month we’re discussing The Undying: A Meditation on Modern Illness by Anne Boyer with Mychal Denzel Smith (Stakes is High). Our conversation explores the commodification of cancer, the ways sexism is entrenched in the language of breast cancer, and how form and content can work together and fight against one another in the same text.
There are no spoilers in this episode.

Be sure to listen until the end of the podcast to find out The Stacks Book Club pick for July!

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

Connect with Mychal: Twitter | Instagram | Website | Open Form Podcast
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To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 169 Allowing Anger to Drive Passion with Ashley C. Ford

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Ashley C. Ford is a host, podcaster, writer, and now author. Her debut book, Somebody’s Daughter, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and tells the story of her childhood as it relates to her coming of age and her father’s incarceration. Today we discuss therapy as part of her writing process, the ways anger can fuel passion, and what it means to be published by Oprah Winfrey’s imprint.

The Stacks Book Club selection for June is The Undying by Anne Boyer. We will discuss the book with Mychal Denzel Smith on Wednesday June 30th.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

Connect with Ashley: Twitter | Instagram | Website
CConnect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 168 Embodying History with Clint Smith

Today we are joined by Clint Smith author of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. Clint is also a staff writer at The Atlantic and the poet behind Counting Descent. We talk about how Clint’s poetry informs his nonfiction writing, the capacity to be surprised, and the recency of slavery.

The Stacks Book Club selection for June is The Undying by Anne Boyer. We will discuss the book with Mychal Denzel Smith on Wednesday June 30th.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

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Connect with Clint: Twitter | Instagram | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 167 Disrupting the Systems that Cage Us with Marlon Peterson

Today we are joined by author and activist Marlon Peterson. His book Bird Uncaged: An Abolitionist’s Freedom Song is out now and is both a memoir of Marlon’s time in prison and an indictment of a system that fails its citizens. We talk today about possibility, asking different questions, and romantic comedies.

The Stacks Book Club selection for June is The Undying by Anne Boyer. We will discuss the book with Mychal Denzel Smith on Wednesday June 30th.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

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Connect with Marlon: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 166 Who Do We Want to Be with Mychal Denzel Smith

Our guest this week is Mychal Denzel Smith, the author of one of Traci’s favorite books from 2020, Stakes is High. Mychal’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications, and now he hosts the Open Form podcast. Today we talk about the difference between accountability and punishment, abolition, and what it means to want better for America.


The Stacks Book Club selection for June is The Undying by Anne Boyer. We will discuss the book with Mychal Denzel Smith on Wednesday June 30th.

LISTEN NOW

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Stitcher

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

Books

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Everything Else

Connect with Mychal: Twitter | Instagram | Website | Open Form Podcast

Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Apple Podcasts | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

The Stacks Book Club — June 2021

After reading an 800+ page classics novel in May, I’m thrilled to be getting back to nonfiction in June with the 2020 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction, The Undying: A Meditation of Modern Illness by Anne Boyer.

At the age of 41, poet Anne Boyer was diagnosed with an aggressive form of triple-negative breast cancer. This memoir comes out of the experience of being diagnosed, going through treatments, and ultimately undying from breast cancer. Boyer looks at the ways terminal illnesses are portrayed in art, the media, and the ways that the cancer industrial complex is flawed and erroneous. The Undying is full of emotion and lyrical writing that enhances Boyer’s observations and experiences.

We will be discussing The Undying on Wednesday, June 30th. You can find out who our guest will be for that discussion by listening to the podcast on June 2nd. If you’d like even more discussion around the book consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and participating in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

Order your copy of our June book on Bookshop.org or Amazon.


To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed. For more information click here.