I'M TELLING THE TRUTH, BUT I'M LYING Essays

Nothing is off-limits in author/narrator Bassey Ikpi's unflinching look at her life as a poet, performer, woman, mother, and child. Her years as a spoken-word poet and performer are evident in the creation of this smooth listening experience. Ikpi is completely in control of her wide-ranging memoir as it switches between levity and seriousness. Listeners will laugh along when this daughter of Nigerian immigrants recounts aspects of her youth. Later, Ikpi's story and her delivery style take on more serious tones as she describes the stress of a very public breakdown. Listeners will applaud her bravery as the chapters build a series of self-revelatory snippets about the ups and downs of balancing mental illness and creative impulses. M.R. 2020 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2019]