In 'Dyscalculia,' Camonghne Felix reckons with heartbreak as a form of trauma

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR

Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The critically acclaimed poet Camonghne Felix says that people going through breakups are not often treated with the same grace or generosity as those who've experienced self-harm or sexual assault. But in her new memoir, Dyscalculia, she explores the ways romantic pain and loss requires its own kind of grief – and the amount of honesty that it requires to truly heal from heartbreak. In today's episode, she tells NPR's Juana Summers about how she yearned for a book, written by a Black woman, that immersed itself in that process – and so she ended up having to write her own story.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Timbede Armias. There's a thing I've heard about memoirs,
0:08.7	that the best ones are both vulnerable and honest, and in that honesty, we get a better sense of
0:15.1	the writer and maybe even see some of ourselves in their journey. This week, we bring you memoirs from a variety of
0:22.6	writers, all of whom use their life story in whatever form it comes in, to tell us something
0:28.6	about themselves and the world that created them. And we begin with a love story of sorts.
0:34.9	You may know Camon Felix as a poet whose work has garnered critical acclaim,
0:39.4	like her debut collection titled Build Yourself a Boat, which was long listed for a National
0:44.9	Book Award. In her latest book, Discalculia, a love story of epic miscalculation, Felix confronts
0:53.1	the topic of heartbreak, and I'll mention here that
0:56.2	this interview deals with topics like self-harm. But it's not just that. It's also about Felix's
1:03.2	journey to loving herself in the face of the trauma that heartbreak can bring. Really, it's my love
1:10.1	story, Felix tells NPR's Juana Summers, a love story for myself,
1:15.5	a love story for my past, a love story for heartbreak, and it's a love story for black girls.
1:23.7	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
1:28.5	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors.
1:33.0	On our new show, Sources and Methods.
1:35.1	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,
1:38.8	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:42.4	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:48.7	Kamone Felix says around the second or third grade, she went from having a generous love for math to being incredibly afraid of it.
1:57.1	My ability to comprehend what was on the board completely went away.
2:02.4	Felix suffers from a learning disorder called Discalculia.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.