AlieNation by Jayma Anne Montgomery

AlieNation: The Imitated Life by Jayma Anne Montgomery is a surprising autobiographical work reflecting on family, culture, and identity, particularly in the context of immigration and mental health.

Until the age of five, Jayma lived with her aunt and uncle in Jamaica, and she never realized her family was poor. Only when her mother brought her to the United States did she discover that a different life was possible, though she finds that poverty isn’t the only obstacle to one’s safety and well-being. Dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, and the difficulty 0f assimilating into a frequently hostile culture, Jayma must forge a new sense of self over and over again.

With a frank style, detailed memories, and the ability to expound on profound topics via the lens of personal experience, AlieNation stretches the form of memoir, to a sometimes tangential, but always compelling read. Montgomery’s Christian faith is core to her life moving forward, but her story never becomes preachy, and the emotionally charged stories of her life are always told with a remarkable degree of steadiness and self-awareness.

Writing about cultural displacement, race, immigration, feminism, and social dynamics both public and private, Montgomery’s complex life will give comfort to those who, for any reason, don’t feel like they have a set place in the world.

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