In a world dominated by performances that encourage us to portray ourselves as our most joyful, we begin to assume that everyone is free of grief.

A Audible é um serviço de entretenimento em áudio que oferece aos assinantes acesso ilimitado a mais de 100 mil audiolivros, além da possibilidade de adquirir um catálogo adicional de mais de 300 mil títulos de audiolivros com desconto. She holds it close to her chest, this cup, and she says, "As a kid, whenever I felt incredibly angry or sad, I'd imagine this mug, warm and all, so close to my chest and everything would feel a bit calmer. And so I found that transferring that skill into sharing was daunting at first, but I’ve really learned how to just be completely honest in what I share publicly because of the reception that I’ve gotten. Be Not Afraid of Love is a stunning collection of interconnected essays and affirmations that follow Mimi Zhu's journey toward embodying and re-learning love after a violent relationship. Binaries create fragmentations and opposing forces, and do not regard joy, sadness, life, and death as intrinsic to the wholeness and balance of being.

Looking at these slurs on paper allowed me to see that they were not inherent parts of me but lived outside of me. But what distinguishes their writing, Instagram affirmations and essays alike, is their honesty and humility. The range of emotions I felt throughout this book alongside the comfort, understanding, and profoundness of those emotions that awoke within me makes this one I’ll recommend to all those I love, and all those who wish to be loved.

Yesterday, I got a box of advanced final copies, and I wrote some letters to people to give them as gifts.Be Not Afraid of Love is the opposite - it encourages a deep interrogation with the self and asks us to analyze the ways in which we both idolize and distance ourselves from love. And I think we saw that during the pandemic — how there was so much grief and some of it actually went unprocessed, without support, came out as violence in pain and projection. Dancing and celebrating, eating with and feeding queer people of color in this city has nourished me. Something that I’ve noticed within myself is this nervousness because I know how interconnected we all are,” Zhu adds, knitting their hands together. This book of essays is Zhu’s proclaimed love note to not just their readers, but themself, after a violent and abusive romantic relationship.

And then we’re given contradictions in the form of childhood movies or romantic comedies, in the form of words vs. Be Not Afraid of Love brings forward wisdom teachings like impermanence and the law of karma in a way that is accessible and relatable to a new generation. In this essay collection, Mimi Zhu reflects on their healing journey as a survivor of intimate partner violence. Suppressing our sadness can grow into a cruel cynicism, making us scared of our own feelings and doubtful of the fullness of life.

If you’re a queer person with an Instagram account, then you’ve likely encountered Mimi Zhu’s writing.