Lindy West’s marriage was broken. Did polyamory fix it? Lindy West’s memoir, Adult Braces, chronicles her journey through a polyamorous relationship and the emotional turmoil of her marriage to Ahamefule J. Oluo. The book, released this week, blends a solo road trip across the U.S. with a deep exploration of her personal life, offering a raw and unfiltered look at her struggles with love, identity, and self-acceptance. West, known for her incisive critiques of society and her role as a prominent voice in feminist discourse, now turns her lens inward, confronting the complexities of her own relationships and the fallout from her husband’s desire for polyamory. The memoir opens with West’s physical isolation, describing the remote location of her home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where she and her dog, Barry, reside. Her journey begins as a travelogue, with her driving from the Pacific Northwest toward Florida in search of the fictional town of Kokomo, a symbol of her longing for escape and clarity. Along the way, she grapples with her marriage, which had already faced strain due to Oluo’s growing interest in polyamory. The book’s structure—short, introspective chapters—mirrors her fragmented emotional state, as she moves from initial hostility toward discussing her marriage to a tentative acceptance of her own needs. West’s narrative is deeply personal, yet it also reflects broader societal disillusionment. She ties her marital struggles to a collective sense of frustration with America’s promises, questioning whether the pursuit of happiness and stability can ever truly deliver. The memoir demands empathy from readers, asking them to reconcile their own judgments with the raw vulnerability of someone who has been hurt.#adult_braces #ahamefule_j_oluo #bainbridge_island #barry #shrill
Say It with Me Now: Open Marriages Never Work Lindy West’s new memoir, Adult Braces, positions her as a figure who revels in being perceived as a child by the man she once intended to grow old with—and the woman who now occupies his place in bed. The book blends elements of travelogue, polyamory memoir, and self-deprecating humor, offering a critique of monogamy that frames her desire for exclusivity as a form of “false consciousness.” West’s tone is one of defiant irony, as she acknowledges the absurdity of her situation while refusing to apologize for it. In the final chapter of the memoir, West delivers a line that encapsulates her approach: “If you think I have been brainwashed and I am secretly miserable, I simply do not know what to tell you.” This statement, delivered with a mix of self-awareness and sarcasm, underscores her refusal to conform to expectations about personal happiness or moral clarity. The memoir’s structure—part travelogue, part exploration of polyamory—serves as a vehicle for West to dissect the contradictions of modern relationships, particularly the tension between societal norms and individual desires. West’s critique of monogamy is framed as a rejection of what she perceives as a restrictive and performative ideal. She positions her own experiences as emblematic of a broader cultural phenomenon, where the pursuit of exclusivity is both a personal choice and a social construct. Her self-deprecating humor often masks a deeper skepticism toward the narratives that define relationships, whether they are rooted in tradition, personal ambition, or societal pressure.#indie_author #lindy_west #adult_braces #polyamory #girls
