Burn Down the Ground by Kambri Crews (Villard, $25) Reviewed by Christy Worth
How did you feel when you first picked up Kambri’s book?
Nervous! It’s one thing to put the truth out there, but what if the book isn’t any good?
Which part made you laugh the hardest and why?
When our horse, Charlie Brown, ate all the marijuana my son had been growing behind our shed. At the time I was horrified, of course, but nothing bad really happened. What’s not funny about a horse getting high?
Which part do you kind of wish weren’t in there?
The part where my daughter talked about her days living on Cuervo Nation in the British Virgin Islands, where she got drunk and jumped naked from the top of a “pirate” ship. I asked her to cut that part out. [It is no longer in the book.]
What’s not in the book that you’d want to scribble in the margins for readers to see?
If you’re in an abusive relationship—even if you’re afraid of leaving—do not do what I did and stay. No one deserves that.
Which part made you proudest of Kambri?
The whole thing! She’s a very good writer, and the fact that she’s been able to make something of herself after all we’ve been through is quite an accomplishment.
If you could hang the book on the fridge, where would you put it?
I’d have it on top of the fridge, propped on one of those cookbook stands, open to the page where my daughter describes me as being “a slim strawberry blonde” and “easy on the eyes.”