Michael Arceneaux is one of those writers I stumbled upon by accident. When his first book, I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé was being published, I knew of it only because Crissle West, of one of the hosts of The Read podcast and she of the amazing laugh and legendary reads, kept talking about it. The title alone would have made me read this book, so I borrowed it from the library and became an instant fan. Now with his second book, I Don’t Want To Die Poor, Michael talks about the one thing many of us have in common: student loan debt.

The book, a collection of 15 essays, delves into what life has been like for Michael after graduating from Howard University with six-figure student loan debt. He may be a New York Times best-selling author, but that student loan debt has been a crippling weight on his shoulders. The author discusses the sacrifices he’s made paying those loans back, missing out on things many of us take for granted: vacations, buying a home, not working as much as he has, just to avoid defaulting on his loans. And it made me sad for him and others who are living their lives this way, especially the very young. At a time when they should be going out, having fun, making regrettable choices with several sexual partners, too many of them are living at home, working jobs they can’t stand just to make the minimum payments on their federal student loans (and Jesus help them if they have private loans). No longer can they be 20-somethings living carefree and reckless lives. They’re too broke to do that.

That doesn’t mean the book is all doom and gloom. No way, it is also funny as hell. I found myself laughing like a hyena at times because Michael can still find the funny. Like the different ways he could have made real money in the essay, “K Street Thot (and Other Careers Considered).” His brand of humor is spread out throughout the collection, bringing a bit of lightness to a topic that weighs heavily on his mind.

I graduated from NYU, which was my dream school and I have a lot of student loan debt (although it is less than six figures). Do I regret going there? Absolutely not. I loved every minute of it. Do I regret the student loan debt I have? Yes, but it’s here now and I pay it every month. But I’m lucky because I’ve always been a “W-2 bitch” (Michael’s nickname for people who have regular jobs), which is why I can pay my loans.

Several of the author’s essays stood out, including “Mama’s Boy,” which is an essay speaking directly to his mother. When Michael talks about wanting to make sure his mother can “have paradise now” I felt that in my bones. I ADORE my mother (I love my father too, but my Mom is numero uno) and do whatever I can to make sure she has whatever she needs. Michael is the same and I hope he is free not only of the student loan debt he has, but also the guilt of having his mother co-sign them.

Another essay that stood out is “To Freedom,” an essay that talks of the different ways people view student loan debt and the solutions some politicians have tried to introduce. Like Michael, I’ve seen so many on social media who get up in arms when the idea of student loan debt cancellation is brought up. The argument that almost always comes up is, “I paid off my student loans, it’s unfair to cancel student loans for everyone else.” What? When Michael wrote about his debt problems (read the essay here), he received the same kind of vitriol. And when the help benefits Black people, like the gift from Robert F. Smith to Morehouse’s Class of 2019, well honey, that’s when people really get butt hurt. I felt joy for those graduates even as I made my next payment. Because they deserve to be free of that burden.

All in all, I enjoyed reading Michael’s newest collection because he put into words what so many of us are feeling about our students loans: fear, guilt, despair, and longing for the day we make that last payment.

Where to buy: The Lit. Bar Loyalty Bookstores Indiebound Mahogany Books Amazon