The in-Betweens

Davon Loeb is an assistant features editor at The Rumpus. He earned an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers University-Camden and has had work published in Catapult, Ploughshares, Joyland, PANK, and elsewhere. He lives in New Jersey. Learn more at davonloeb.com.

A Love Story On I-85 South My Mother's Mother Bath Time The Reconstruction of a Slave At Church Like Gladiators Drinking a Colt 45 Throw the Football A Roll of Duct Tape Summer Thunderstorms Aunt Sammy Alabama Fire Ants Don't Open the Door The Settlers Inn To Be a Man Patricide and Boot Shines With My Dad Fighting for the Tree Weekend Weather O. J. and the Wax Museum Steve Urkel, Kick the Ball Before Cell Phones Between Walls at a Friend's House But I Am Not Toby Thoughts on Hair The Angels of the Paint Suicide on the Triples Shopping with Kris The Jumps Not the Worst of Boys 5-Series BMW A Back Seat and a Fire Pit Morning Noise Quitting Meant Back to Babysitting After-School Basketball Game The Best Dancer The Black Jew Something about Love Visitations with My Father For My Brother Living in a Studio Apartment The Makings of a Gym Rat In-Between Sirens A Small Lesson on Loitering On the Confederate Flag Retirement Acknowledgments

Utterly captivating and resonant, The In-Betweens deserves a top spot on your bookshelf."-Chicago Review of Books "This gorgeously told 'lyrical memoir' recounts Loeb's curious, difficult, joyous journey to find a place in the world in light of his Southern Black and Long Island-Jewish heritage."-Philadelphia Inquirer "Resonant. . . .Engagingly delivered, candid reflections on heritage and identity."-Kirkus Reviews "[Loeb] dances to a slow, beautiful ballad on every page. His story will move any reader, but it's the craft of his work that truly shines."-Debutiful "Rich, evocative, and surprising."-Marissa Higgins, Daily Kos"While the memoir is masterfully told-Loeb employs a variety of craft techniques that have a powerful effect-what makes The In-Betweens so special is the thoughtfulness Loeb brings to his work."-The Rumpus "Loeb's debut memoir crackles with light, breaking open each superb chapter to uncover a memorable and gripping origin story."-Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders "Sentence to sentence, The In-Betweens is awake to the awe of being in a body and the danger of negotiating a culture that wants to drive space between us, inside us. Davon Loeb is writing to stay alive under the harshest conditions, and he has given us a brilliant, devastating book."-Paul Lisicky, author of Later: My Life at the Edge of the World "Confession, manifesto, bildungsroman, and prayer, The In-Betweens is a meditation on bruise and healing. Loeb's struggles become snapshots of how transformation occurs even where shards have been piled, where one waits 'for something to happen, like flashes of red and blue and sirens pulsing.' A truly extraordinary new voice."-Roy G. Guzman, author of Catrachos "Loeb's debut memoir crackles with light, breaking open each superb chapter to uncover a memorable and gripping origin story."-Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders "Sentence to sentence, The In-Betweens is awake to the awe of being in a body and the danger of negotiating a culture that wants to drive space between us, inside us. Davon Loeb is writing to stay alive under the harshest conditions, and he has given us a brilliant, devastating book."-Paul Lisicky, author of Later: My Life at the Edge of the World "Confession, manifesto, bildungsroman, and prayer, The In-Betweens is a meditation on bruise and healing. Loeb's struggles become snapshots of how transformation occurs even where shards have been piled, where one waits 'for something to happen, like flashes of red and blue and sirens pulsing.' A truly extraordinary new voice."-Roy G. Guzman, author of Catrachos "Rich, evocative, and surprising."-Marissa Higgins, Daily Kos