Celestial | Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir

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Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir

Akwaeke Emezi

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FEATURED ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE AS A 2021 NEXT GENERATION LEADER.

“A once-in-a-generation voice.” – Vulture

“One of our greatest living writers.” – Shondaland.

A full-throated and provocative memoir in letters from the New York Times bestselling author, “a dazzling literary talent whose works cut to the quick of the spiritual self” (Esquire).

In three critically acclaimed novels, Akwaeke Emezi has introduced readers to a landscape marked by familial tensions, Igbo belief systems, and a boundless search for what it means to be free.

Now, in this extraordinary memoir, the bestselling author of The Death of Vivek Oji reveals the harrowing yet resolute truths of their own life. Through candid, intimate correspondence with friends, lovers, and family, Emezi traces the unfolding of a self and the unforgettable journey of a creative spirit stepping into power in the human world.

Their story weaves through transformative decisions about their gender and body, their precipitous path to success as a writer, and the turmoil of relationships on an emotional, romantic, and spiritual plane, culminating in a book that is as tender as it is brutal.

Electrifying and inspiring, animated by the same voracious intelligence that distinguishes Emezi's fiction, Dear Senthuran is a revelatory account of storytelling, self, and survival.

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Posts about this title from Celestial

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Mar 10

💭 what’s a book on your TBR for the 2026 Trans Rights Readathon?

💭 what’s a book on your TBR for the 2026 Trans Rights Readathon? @transrightsreadathon

here are some that I wish I saw recommended more frequently!

📚 books mentioned: - Fawn’s Blood by Hal Schrieve - Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir by Walela Nehanda - Warm-Blooded by J Greene - Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

👗💄: - dress is from Kachel, rented from Nuuly - eyeshadow is Ellis Atlantis Palette from Blend Bunny Cosmetics and The Lord of the Rings Middle Earth Palette from Glamlite - eyeshadow shimmer is Mirage from Ourbella Cosmetics - mascara is Cloud Mascara from Sweed Beauty - lip is combo is Staining Lip Liner (Chori Chori) from Kulfi Beauty and Gloss Up Sheer Finish Lip Gloss (Quiet Luxury) from The Lip Bar - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Seven Stories Press, Kokila / Penguin Teen, and Ingram Sparks for the gifted copies!

#transrightsreadathon #trr26 #bookrecs #nycinfluencer #bookstagram @7storiespress @penguinteen @ingramsparkbooks @riverheadbooks @kachelclothing @blendbunnycosmetics @glamlite @ourbella.us @sweedbeauty @kulfi.beauty @thelipbar

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trans rights readathon • books by trans authors • books with trans main characters • nonbinary books • agender books • genderfluid books • gender expansive book rep • queer books • diverse books • Triangle Square • Liana Ink • Riverhead books

4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 1 2025

💭 do you have a favorite memoir?

💭 do you have a favorite memoir?

✨memoir recommendations by nonbinary & agender authors! 📚 books mentioned: - Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir by Walela Nehanda - Heavyweight: A Family Story of the Holocaust, Empire, and Memory by Solomon J. Brager - Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

👗💄: - hair gems are from Hally Hair - eyeshadow is the mermaid palette from Ourbella - (also if you have a question about my makeup or something i’m wearing, most of it is curated in my shopmy!)

thank you to Kokila Books/Penguin Teen and William Morrow for the gifted copies!

#memoirrecs #memoirbookrecs #nonfictionbooks #starrysteph #nycinfluencer #diversebookstagram #nycbookstagram #bookstagram #penguinteenpartner #williammorrow @kokilabooks @penguinteen @williammorrowbooks @riverheadbooks @ourbella.us @hallyhair

3 books

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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Mar 9 2025

30+ trans & nonbinary book recs | trans rights readathon 2025 prep!

feel free to recommend your favorite trans book in the comment section (or pitch your own if you're an author)!!

let's fill these comments with love so this video doesn't end up on the scary side of the algorithm.

☆ featured links ☆ official trans rights readathon website (with TONS of resources): https://transrightsreadathon.carrd.co/ PLEASE sign up here to be included in the data: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/2025-trans-rights-readathon 💫 join me on bindery (celestial - exclusive content, discord, book club, and more): https://celestial.binderybooks.com/

☆ everything I mentioned (in order) ↓ - Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi - Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi - Pet by Akwaeke Emezi - Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi - The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi - You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi - Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi - Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi - The Deep by Rivers Solomon - Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon - An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon - Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White - The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White - Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White - The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros - Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros - Bone Weaver by Aden Polydoros - Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros - The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey - Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey - Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas - The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas - Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas - Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki - Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’Shaun L. Harrison - Heavyweight by Solomon J. Brager - The Seep by Chana Porter - The Devourers by Indra Das - The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson - The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia - Feed Them Silence by Lee Mandelo - Station Six by S.J. Klapecki - Junker Seven by Olive J. Kelley - Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto

↓ find me in more places ↓ 🎵 tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@starrysteph 📸 insta: https://www.instagram.com/starry.steph 🦋 bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/starrysteph.bsky.social 📚 storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/starrysteph 📖 goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/147956803-steph-starrysteph 💌 email: starrystephbooks@gmail.com more: https://beacons.ai/starrysteph

☆ resources ☆ 🇵🇸 learn more about the history of Palestine: https://decolonizepalestine.com/ 🇨🇩 learn more about what's happening in the DRC: https://friendsofthecongo.org/ 🇸🇩 Sudan Solidarity Collective: https://sudansolidarity.com/

34 books

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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Sep 21 2024

"booktok destroyed literature!"

i know that it sometimes feels like you’re struggling against the tide, but your feed is what you make it! here’s a little reset for you all the same.

20 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 2 2024

i’m getting engaged? destroying my book slump? readathon? | july wrap up

☆ everything I mentioned (in order) ↓ - Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose - Junker Seven by Olive J. Kelley - The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington - Never Whistle At Night - Barda by Ngozi Ukazu - Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi

8 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Mar 10

💭 what’s a book on your TBR for the 2026 Trans Rights Readathon?

💭 what’s a book on your TBR for the 2026 Trans Rights Readathon? @transrightsreadathon

here are some that I wish I saw recommended more frequently!

thank you to Seven Stories Press, Kokila / Penguin Teen, and Ingram Sparks for the gifted copies!

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4 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Dec 1 2025

💭 do you have a favorite memoir?

💭 do you have a favorite memoir?

thank you to Kokila Books/Penguin Teen and William Morrow for the gifted copies!

3 books

1

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Mar 9 2025

30+ trans & nonbinary book recs | trans rights readathon 2025 prep!

feel free to recommend your favorite trans book in the comment section (or pitch your own if you're an author)!!

let's fill these comments with love so this video doesn't end up on the scary side of the algorithm.

34 books

1

Sapph-Lit\ \ Nina\ \ • Feb 10 2025

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Happy Black History Month from Sapph-Lit 💗

Remember that Black history is also American history, it doesn’t stop & start in just one month. These books are for every month of every year! Read up, open your purse, and buy titles you’re interested in from indie bookstores 🫡✨

48 books

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Sapph-Lit\ \ Nina\ \ • Jan 23 2025

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[Prepare yourself for a LONG newsletter full of ramblings on reading goals, bolognese, the intersection of Nosferatu & Babygirl, and of course our shitshow of a government. At the end you get a treat: help me pick out a wedding guest dress! READING: 2024 recap & 2025 goals! \ \ Okay so I’m a little late to the party with this one. What can I say, the holidays combined with seasonal depression and the inauguration has gotten your girl down in a pit of despair. Nevertheless, she persisted!! I’m already reading a LOT more in January than I was in December (thank you 12 hour TikTok ban for forcing me to look at words on a page again…JK) In December, I only read 2 books LOL — my partner and I have been listening to the Lord of the Rings on audiobook together. Anytime we take a road trip, Andy Serkis is our copilot and he does all of the voices in character SO PERFECTLY, especially Gollum of course.\ \ Also can I just say, Tolkein is SUCH a horse girl (just like me) — every time he introduces us to someone’s horse, he gives us so much detail and constantly reassures the reader that the horse is okay and survives the battles they’re facing. Like, when the hobbits went through the forest and their horses spooked off, Tolkien included a whole paragraph about how they found their way to Tom Bombadil’s cottage where he sheltered and fed them and gave them lots of love and pets??? Iconic. If you’re curious on my thoughts of the LOTR movies, I wrote all about it for the queer film focused Substack THE YEARNING.\ \ The other book I read was WILD & WRANGLED by Lyla Sage, an upcoming pub from Dial Press. The girlies went FERAL over copies of this ARC, and I quite literally begged both Lyla and Dial Press to get me one. After some groveling, I got a NetGalley widget and consumed the book in one sitting. It’s IMPECCABLE, the perfect topper to the end of the Rebel Blue series. I cannot express how excited I am for Lyla’s next series: SWEETWATER PEAK. Lyla describes it as a “contemporary take on a western gothic romance” where the two twin sister MCs are able to communicate with ghosts. I’m…sold. I love spooky. I love horses. I love romance. It’s everything!!!\ \ In 2024 I read 66 books total, across 22,823 pages! The first book I read was Girlhood by Melissa Febos, and the last one was of course Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage. My average rating was 3.98 stars, which tracks for me because I am LIBERAL with my 4 and 5 star ratings. If you’re not rating your books positively, why read them? Read what you love and have a good time! I read the most in August (makes sense, summer is always my best season) and I read the work of 24 new authors <3\ \ This year, I’m repeating my goal of 52 books a year. I used to read over 100 books a year when I was first getting into BookTok. I think part of that surge was because of the pressure I felt to constantly be creating new content and reacting to popular books I saw on the app. For 2025, it’s all about intentionality, quality over quantity, and leaning into joy and romance. What are your reading goals this year? Anything stand out in your 2024 reading wrapped? Let me know in the comments!\ \ \ \ ​\ \ EATING: My tried & true Bolognese recipe \ \ I really want to share more of my cooking on socials because it is one of the practices that makes me feel most like myself — I got my cooking skills from my mamma. When I was in high school, I did an independent project senior year that allowed me to drop my morning math and science classes so I could stay home and cook with my mom. I’m not kidding — how NYU let me in, I have no idea. I called the project “Around The World in 30 Plates” and I cooked breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert from different countries around the world, blogging about what I learned. I think the Blogspot is still in the ether of the internet somewhere. Digital footprints are terrifying. In fact I just Googled it and it was the first thing that came up. Enjoy stalking the version of me from over 10 years ago if that’s how you want to spend your day, the recipes still slap honestly.\ \ Anyways, the recipe I make more than any other is bolognese. It was my pandemic hyper-fixation — I crafted the recipes from a mish mash of Bon Appétit videos (before its downfall), at home trial and error, family tips & tricks, cookbooks and Italian legends etc. The below is MY true bolo, but it can be done in a million different ways and I love that for you and your journey. This is mine. If you make it, send me a pic so I can judge you with love <3\ \ NINA'S BOLOGNESE RECIPE: ft. unhinged commentary & unclear instructions \ \ Serves: 4-6\ \ 1.5 lbs of Italian sausage (spicy if available)\ \ - Get it out of the casing and form into about 1 inch chunks, browning on all sides in your sauce pot, the bottom coated in olive oil — medium/high heat\ \ - Take it out and set aside (I always use the top of the pot and turn it upside down and lay down a few paper towels)\ \ - DON’T CLEAN OUT THE POT OKAYYYYY\ \ 1/2 lb of pancetta, cubed to about 1cm\ \ Like … half ? a bulb of garlic, minced\ \ - Throw these in the pot and get em nice and cooked JUST before they’re crispy. Maybe 5 min? Medium heat\ \ - Add garlic halfway through so it doesn’t burn\ \ 1 large yellow onion, diced\ \ 1 large carrot, peeled and diced\ \ 1 medium bag of celery hearts, diced\ \ - This is your MIREPOIX bitches — add that shit in and add in more olive oil\ \ - Sauté until soft and the veggies turn a little translucent. Maybe 10 min? Medium heat\ \ White wine\ \ - Pour until the top of the label (about 1 cup ? drink the rest lol)\ \ - ADD YOUR SAUSAGE BACK IN FIRST — use your wooden spoon to break it up in to smaller chunks. Give it a good stir.\ \ - Let this REDUCE in the veggies — maybe another 10 min?\ \ 1 can of tomato paste\ \ Grated nutmeg — like, maybe 1/4 of the nut?\ \ 2-3 bay leaves depending on their size\ \ - Add these and let it simmer until the paste turns a darker red color — like 5 ish minutes?\ \ 2 cups of chicken broth\ \ 1 cup of whole milk (you can substitute for oat milk only if it’s extra creamy, or use 1/2 a cup of heavy cream)\ \ - Add these and DO NOT COVER YOUR POT and turn it on LOW HEAT\ \ - Let it bubble bubble toil and trouble for like 4-5 hours. Watch TV. Read a book. Drink the rest of that bottle\ \ 1 box of mezzi rigatoni (Barilla ofc, have some class)\ \ - THIS IS THE BEST SHAPE I HAVE DONE EXTENSIVE TESTING DO NOT ARGUE\ \ - Get water boiling in a different pot — DO NOT SALT THE WATER I KNOW IT FEELS WRONG BUT I FEEL LIKE THE SPICY SAUSAGE IS ALREADY SALTED AND CHEESE JUST DON’T OK\ \ - Cook TWO MINUTES UNDER THE RECOMMENDED TIME — you’re going to finish it in the SAUCE\ \ - Save some of the pasta water you heathen!!!! Like 1 cup at LEAST\ \ - Add the pasta into the sauce with a shit ton of parmesan — add your pasta water GRADUALLY and cook for the remaining pasta cook time\ \ - Serve and enjoy <3 You did it! Slay!\ \ \ \ ​\ \ PLAYING: The Venn diagram center of Nosferatu & Babygirl (TW: discussion of SA) \ \ In December I saw Nosferatu and last week I saw Babygirl — both were complete 5 star movies for me. Now, I’m musing A LOT on the politics of expressions of sexual desire that falls outside the societal norm and how that intersects specifically with survivors of sexual assault and violence. My friend Sanjana has a WONDERFUL video related to this & Nosferatu on her TikTok page, and many others, and she’s so much smarter and more eloquent than me but I’m going to attempt to give you my half baked take.\ \ SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! \ \ So basically — the opening scene of Nosferatu shows our main girlie Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose Depp) experience what I took as an implied sexual assault as a child. Then as an adult in multiple parts of the movie, she’s married and talking to her hubby Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) about how she feels unclean, tainted, terrified and ashamed by her dark thoughts and desires.\ \ Almost identically though in very different contexts, in Babygirl, Nicole Kidman’s character Romy talks to her hubby Antonio Banderas about how she feels unclean, tainted, terrified and ashamed by her dark thoughts and desires. For her, it’s implied this stems from growing up in a cult, and we see her explore sexual fantasies through her porn preferences and her affair with a much younger man.\ \ Both characters endured some sort of trauma as children, and it heavily affected how they experience and express desire in their sex lives as adults. Both feel they have to suppress their desires because of the society they live in — Lily Rose Depp in Victorian era Germany, and Nicole Kidman as a CEO of a major corporation. They both, in their own ways, want to be controlled and dominated by these desires, to succumb to the darkness and let go, though it is so difficult for them to communicate this to their husbands since they’re such soft loverboys (who both eventually give them what they need in different moments).\ \ Anyways both movies made me really horny and you should follow me on Letterboxd for many more unhinged movie reviews. If you’ve seen the movies, let me know your thoughts!!! In the words of Kathy Griffin, I need to talk about this with a gay person.\ \ \ \ ​\ \ OBSESSING: The downfall of our democracy, but was there ever really democracy to begin with? \ \ Yeah...so what a wild start to the year…how we all doing? I personally, as I’ve previously mentioned, have been despairing. To recap:\ \

Belated New Year’s R.E.P.O.R.T.

The 6th installment of my monthly newsletter sharing all the things I've been reading, eating, playing, obsessing over, recommending, and treating myself to!

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Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Sep 21 2024

"booktok destroyed literature!"

i know that it sometimes feels like you’re struggling against the tide, but your feed is what you make it! here’s a little reset for you all the same.

20 books

Celestial\ \ Steph\ \ • Aug 2 2024

i’m getting engaged? destroying my book slump? readathon? | july wrap up

8 books

Mood Reads\ \ Hannah\ \ • Mar 10 2024

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\ \ Upgrade for $5 or login](https://moodreads.binderybooks.com/item/Pp5JOwLYBiwX0AoKIJrY/)

TBR Cart Tour (plus, pick one book that I *have* to read by April)

Watch through til the end to pick a book for me to read this month!

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