Banned Books Resource List

August 9, 2021 

As many of you know, Ordi­nary Haz­ards, my mem­oir in verse, is being con­test­ed in the Lean­der School Dis­trict, Lean­der, Texas. I was shocked and sad­dened to learn that a sto­ry that is ulti­mate­ly about tri­umph over dark­ness, the pow­er of faith, and the pow­er of the writ­ten word, was being removed from the dis­tric­t’s book club lists. Is Ordi­nary Haz­ards a dif­fi­cult sto­ry? Yes. It’s a sto­ry that touch­es on the dark side of fos­ter care, on abuse, on a par­en­t’s alco­holism and men­tal ill­ness, and on child­hood trau­ma. But it’s also a true tale filled with grace, love, and lessons in the pow­er of poet­ry. Ulti­mate­ly, Ordi­nary Haz­ards is a sto­ry of hope.

Thank­ful­ly, few read­ers who come to this sto­ry will have expe­ri­enced the range of chal­lenges I con­front­ed in my child­hood. That said, there is val­ue in their read­ing a sto­ry like mine. If noth­ing else, Ordi­nary Haz­ards gives read­ers proof that, no mat­ter what obsta­cles they might face in their own lives, they can come out on the oth­er side tri­umphant, healthy, whole, and thriving—just like I did.

It is sad that some would keep young peo­ple from read­ing my sto­ry. I’m encour­aged to know that many of you agree, and am moved that you have come out in sup­port of Ordi­nary Haz­ards. I can­not thank you enough.

Nik­ki Grimes