2020* the Year of the Asterisk: American Essays

You should buy this book immediately ... because this book knows completely how much you are boiling inside. In 2020, we were deceived and misled. Each day offered a new challenge, revealed some new horror, and there was no relief in being told it was simply the nature of the world, the nature of our society. 2020 was the kind of thing that happens to people in textbooks, except it was happening in real time to all of us. And it needed to be documented. "2020 is shaping up to be one of the most garbage years in American history, what statement do you want to make about it?" This was the writing prompt advanced to the writers of the essays herein, capturing experiences both raw and personal, and attempting to make sense of the extraordinary situation we all found ourselves in. Such a confluence of issues: COVID, Trump, racism, poverty, health, sexism, police brutality, Black Lives Matter, protests, federal troops occupying American cities and beating on citizens, masks, social distancing, businesses shuttered, entire industries closed, schools moved online, major sports halted, and white noise "whataboutism." As the effects of 2020 continue rippling and the future wants to know, "What the hell happened that year?" this collection will clarify. Essays as activism, essays as testimony. Contributors: Rashaun Allen, Jason Arment, Rabb Asad, Joe Austin, DeMisty D. Bellinger, John S. Blake, Shannon Brazil, Tracy Burkholder, Suzanne Burns Akin, Brendan Canty, Adrian Ernesto Cepeda, Stacey Clark, Eve Connell, Zaji Cox, Alex Dang, Leah Noble Davidson, Sean Davis, Chris Dupuy, James Jay Edwards, Brian S. Ellis, Jenny Forrester, Kenning JP Garc a, Lauren Gilmore, Dian Greenwood, Joseph Edwin Haeger, Ally Henny, Jackie Shannon Hollis, Gabino Iglesias, Ashley James, Tim Mays, Wryly T. McCutchen, Travis Laurence Naught, Dang Nguyen, Isobel O'Hare, Florencia Orlandoni, Linda Rand, Skyler Reed, Christine Maul Rice, Kate Ristau, Leyna Rynearson, Liz Scott, Kimberly Sheridan, Corie Skolnick, Amoja Sumler, Ben Tanzer, Nancy Townsley, Chris Valle, Ran Walker, Eric Witchey, Ellen Yaffa, Jason Zenobia