ONE OF TIME ’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF 2019 ONE OF BUZZFEED ’S BEST BOOKS OF 2019 An electrifying, dazzlingly written reckoning and an essential addition to the national conversation about race and class, Survival Math takes its name from the calculations award-winning author Mitchell S. Jackson made to survive the Portland, Oregon of his youth. This dynamic book explores gangs and guns, near-death experiences, sex work, masculinity, composite fathers, the concept of “hustle,” and the destructive power of addiction—all framed within the story of Jackson, his family, and his community. Lauded for its breathtaking pace, its tender portrayals, its stark candor, and its luminous style, Survival Math reveals on every page the searching intellect and originality of its author. The primary narrative, focused on understanding the antecedents of Jackson’s family’s experience, is complemented by poems composed from historical American documents as well as survivor files, which feature photographs and riveting short narratives of several of Jackson’s male relatives. The sum of Survival Math ’s parts is a highly original whole, one that reflects on the exigencies—over generations—that have shaped the lives of so many disenfranchised Americans. As essential as it is beautiful, as real as it is artful, Mitchell S. Jackson’s nonfiction debut is a singular achievement, not to be missed. "This memoir takes readers inside a side of Portland, Ore., not frequently written about, and the calculations Jackson made to survive." — The San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 things to read, watch or hear to increase racial awareness "Jackson grew up in one of the whitest cities in America, and his memoir explores the forces that have shaped his life. Inside you’ll find photographs, short narrative interviews, and poems composed of historical documents—all stories that speak to the expression of masculinity in Jackson’s community. He grapples with ideas about fatherhood, of how gangs and guns warp people’s lives, and so much more—always echoing just how complex the intersection of race and class is in America." — Esquire , the Best Books of 2019 (So Far) "In his nonfiction debut, award-winning novelist Mitchell S. Jackson explains what it’s like to grow up black in one of the whitest cities in the country: Portland, Ore. Jackson’s brutally honest memoir delves into his own past — ruminating on his mother’s drug addiction — alongside the histories of the men who came before him. Jackson places his experiences with violence, crime and trauma in a broader context through photographs and stories of his male relatives, illuminating the true costs of survival in the U.S." — Time , The Ten Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 So Far "A model of autobiographical writing that demonstrates how reportage and critical attention to the complexities of black life – in its intersectional textures – can be the source for an inimitable memoir…Jackson writes with a keen attentiveness to the social contexts shaping the lives of his family, offering nuanced depictions that upend the stereotypes that often cage us in…Jackson characterizes neither his people nor himself as perfect, but at the same time he refuses to treat them as disposable. He exposes their inner lives, then approaches them with radical love. And to love, as Jackson seems to understand, is to avoid lying. So he grapples honestly…One of the most striking facets of Jackson’s book is the way he bares himself…His book is a testament that revision is not only possible but necessary… Survival Math makes it clear that blackness is never a deficit. And yet as Jackson reminds us, even those of us who are black men must be certain not to rely on a computational system, steeped in anti-black racist patriarchy, to save ourselves while harming others.” — New York Times Book Review “A shattering memoir of [Jackson's] mother's love affair with drugs and his own struggle to reconcile the forces of racism, toxic masculinity, the lure of the hustle, and the 'composite Pops' who helped raise him." — O, the Oprah Magazine “[A] vibrant memoir of race, violence, family, and manhood…Jackson recognizes there is too much for one conventional form, and his various storytelling methods imbue the book with an unpredictable dexterity. It is sharp and unshrinking in depictions of his life, his relatives (blood kin and otherwise), and his Pacific Northwest hometown, which serves as both inescapable character and villain…It’s Jackson’s history, but it’s also a microcosm of too many black men struggling both against their worst instincts, and a society that often leaves them with too few alternatives…His virtuosic wail of a book reminds us that for a black person in America, it can never be that easy.” — Boston Globe “The sum of Survival Math ’s parts is a highly original whole, one that reflects on the exigencies—over generations—that have shaped the live