When @lizzyy says to read @crybabybea's review of this book in bold heading 2 text, you have to listen! 👂🏻

This book is not something I would've ever thought would interest me but with Bea's review, I had to try! The author sucked me into her magical vortex and I surrendered.

Reading White Magic is very much like taking a road trip with your most unhinged friend who is re-discovering witchcraft and wants to "fix your aura" while chain-smoking and crying to Fleetwood Mac. Elissa Washuta is processing a brutal breakup, generational trauma, and her identity as a Cowlitz Indian woman, all while weaving in Twin Peaks analysis, tarot cards, and the Oregon Trail video game like she's throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Spoiler alert: it all sticks.

The whole thing feels like a Thelma and Louise adventure through the American West, except instead of shooting shitty men, Washuta is eviscerating them on the page. She's googling "spells to remove PTSD" at 2am, obsessing over her ex with the kind of intensity that makes you grateful your private journals will never see print, and calling out Sephora for selling ✨white sage bundles✨. 🙄

It's 400 pages of essays that refuse to behave, jumping between dream-states and reality, centuries and subjects like a caffeinated squirrel. But it's also hilarious, raw, and weirdly comforting, like watching a friend burn their ex's belongings in the backyard and realising she saved you a seat and a beer. By the end, you're not sure if you've read a memoir or participated in a group exorcism. Either way, you're glad you came.

Tl;dr

4⭐️ Really good, I enjoyed it thoroughly. The knowledge of a third option slept like a seed under the soil.

I loved how Maia illustrated em life and shared em journey understanding em gender. Reading memoirs is one of my favorite ways of expanding my horizons to be a better ally because academic texts don't compare to hearing from actual lived experiences.

One thing to keep in mind is that, of course, this is just one experience and thus could never provide a full picture of the whole non-binary spectrum. But it's still a great opportunity to learn in a simple format about gender.