Texting Mia by Michael Jean DuBois

Michael Jean DuBois captures nearly two years of his life via phone messages with his sister in Texting Mia, an experimental memoir that grips the heartstrings with unvarnished honesty.

The vicissitudes of fate land the author and his sister, Mia, back in the home of their Haitian parents as they both try to find a new path forward. As expected, long-dormant wounds reopen and old family trauma bubbles to the surface. The author holds little back as he recounts the upbringing with his parents, and the brutality he and his sister experienced at their hands. As they did when they were children, the siblings turn to each other as allies, but time and experience change every bond, even those once dreamt unbreakable.

Following their commiseration and conversation through transcriptions of their text exchanges, this book defies genre and form to express the raw truth of relationships with those we learn to love most in the world. The format of the majority of the novel is unique – a chronological text chain between siblings – which helps this memoir stand out, but it may also be its main stumbling block. While this uniquely intimate style makes it feel like you are watching a dramatic story unfold in real time, more clear distinctions on the page might make the text more visually stimulating and engaging to read.

All told, this is a highly unconventional, but deeply personal account, exploring the boundaries, communication, Haitian family values, and sibling dynamics in a revealing way, and while the experimental style may be demanding for those accustomed to a more traditional narrative, there is significant insight to be found in this raw and vulnerable story.