Staff Pick
Michaela Coel, British actress, screenwriter, director, producer, and singer, most known for groundbreaking work in the BBC series Chewing Gum and the phenomenal HBO comedy/drama I May Destroy You writes an honest, witty, and powerful personal manifesto that encourages readers to embrace differences and change the narrative, based on her 2018 MacTaggert lecture. A powerful voice from an outstanding artist! Recommended By Kim T., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
From the brilliant mind of Michaela Coel, creator and star of I May Destroy You and Chewing Gum, comes a passionate and inspired declaration against fitting in.
When invited to deliver the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Michaela Coel touched a lot of people with her striking revelations about race, class, and gender, but the person most significantly impacted was Coel herself. Building on her celebrated speech, Misfits immerses readers in her vision through powerful allegory and deeply personal anecdotes — from her coming-of-age in London public housing to her discovery of theater and her love for storytelling. And she tells of her reckoning with trauma and metamorphosis into a champion for herself, inclusivity, and radical honesty.
With inspiring insight and wit, Coel lays bare her journey so far and invites us to reflect on our own. By embracing our differences, she says, we can transform our lives. An artist to her core, Coel holds up the path of the creative as an emblem of our need to regard one another with care and respect — and transparency.
Misfits is a triumphant call for honesty, empathy and inclusion. Championing “misfits” everywhere, this timely, necessary book is a rousing coming-to-power manifesto dedicated to anyone who has ever worried about fitting in.
Review
“Written with the same perfect balance of sentiment, insight and wit that made viewers fall in love with her on the screen....It’s an impassioned and rousing defense of staying true to yourself and supporting others to do the same.” Time
Review
“Coel covers everything...with her signature wit and wisdom, making it clear that her narrative power transcends the small screen. Coel’s is a voice that jumps off the page, and it’s one we’re lucky to have applied to whichever story she chooses to tell.” Vogue.com
About the Author
Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson, known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British actress, screenwriter, director, producer and singer.
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