"On Freedom is ultimately a book that asks us to boldly and generously enter the minefield, to pick up what we find useful, to be pushed and provoked, to polish and discard and reinvent, and then to decide, alone and, ideally, in communion, where to go next." --The Washington Post "[A] sense of optimism sits at the heart of On Freedom. What else is possible? it asks. On Freedom is an argument for how we engage with objects of analysis--and one another--in a way that is principled but not rigid, that displays care for other people''s perceptions, pains and desires, and that has respect for what we cannot know." --Ismail Muhammad, New York Times Magazine "In discussion after discussion, Nelson shows the same alertness to context, intellectual modesty and the conviction that ethical goodness is never all on one side."[ On Freedom ] doesn''t aim to provide a positive account of the meaning of freedom. But if we understand freedom, above all, through our opposition to bondage, we can learn a great deal, as her book shows, from carefully cataloging and challenging the many ways of being unfree." --Kwame Anthony Appiah, The New York Times Book Review "Precise and atmospheric, combining fierce intellectual kick with an openness to nuance.
[Nelson asks] how to live in a world with crushing oppression, alongside people with cruel and violent beliefs, without giving into despair or violence yourself." --Annalisa Quinn, NPR "A meditative and potent examination of freedom. Combining thoughtful cultural criticism with anecdotes from her personal life, Nelson delivers an intriguing work of nonfiction that seeks to challenge readers'' definition of freedom and rethink how the concept operates in our lives." --TIME "One of our most radical and forward-looking thinkers. A tremendously energising book." --Lara Fiegel, The Guardian "Nelson finds playfulness--and fertility--in thorny territory. She explores identity, contradiction, violence, taboo. All her books are united by the same curiosity, the same willingness for intellectual and linguistic exploration.
" --Financial Times Magazine "While her intellect is the driving force of On Freedom, Nelson decenters herself to build a canon of radical thought with reference to artists and thinkers too numerous to name here. In defense of what should be obvious--we are beholden to each other and the planet that sustains us--Nelson encourages readers to examine ''how we negotiate, suffer, and dance with that enmeshment,'' therein finding meaning, purpose and joy in an age of justifiable anxiety." --Kristen Millares Young, The Washington Post "As ever, Nelson''s probing inquiry sits on equal footing with her effortlessly fluid prose, which moves between first-person, anecdotal stories and intense critical examination with the utmost readability. Ultimately Nelson''s approach is one that seeks liberation and transcendence, whether sexual, narcotic, or purely biological--something that radiates palpably from her writing, even when she delves into some of the darkest corners of the human psyche." --Vogue.com "Maggie Nelson is one of America''s leading intellectuals, and her brilliant collection, On Freedom, is a must-read for anyone who wants to deconstruct the most urgent social debates of the day." -- Oprah Daily , Best Books of 2021 "Each essay is thought-provoking and incisive, deepening the complexity and contradictions inherent to our experience of freedom and, simultaneously laying them bare. I haven''t stopped thinking about One Freedom, and I am not certain I ever will.
" --Catherine Whelan, NPR Best Books of 2021 "Nelson''s brainy, affecting, genre-crossing books have earned her a deserved reputation as a sui generis amalgam of poet, memoirist, theorist and critic. This provocative meditation on the ethics of freedom as a source of constraint, as well as liberation, shows her at her most original and brilliant." -- The New York Times , 100 Notable Books of 2021 "Considering the ''freedom drive'' in four realms--art, sex, drugs and the climate crisis--Nelson devotes an expansive essay to each, exploring how notions of liberation and limitation collide." --The Washington Post , Best Nonfiction of 2021 "A deep, thoughtful dive into our modern-day concepts of personal liberty. Nelson''s newest offering is a must-read." --Bustle "Rather than define freedom in exact terms or declare what it is for, Nelson moves through knots of ideology on freedom via ''songs'' of art, sex, drugs, and climate, drawing conclusions . that obliterate the binary of freedom vs. constraint.
On Freedom proves that Nelson continues to do us a great service as a critic, which is to herself digest, and sometimes wrestle with, copious amounts of literature and theory . and to integrate this material into a relatively short book, in an accessible, felicitous voice all Nelson''s own. There are no hot takes in On Freedom. While hot takes are satisfying, they rarely finish the job. If you want to get your hands around something as vast and slippery as freedom, you are going to have to get comfortable moving through an ideological briar patch. On Freedom offers navigation tips, but Nelson''s call to action is a journey that readers must take on their own." --The Boston Globe "A necessary book. Of astonishing cultural significance and among the finest writing of her career.
[On Freedomcanon of radical thought with reference to artists and thinkers too numerous to name here. In defense of what should be obvious--we are beholden to each other and the planet that sustains us--Nelson encourages readers to examine ''how we negotiate, suffer, and dance with that enmeshment,'' therein finding meaning, purpose and joy in an age of justifiable anxiety." --Kristen Millares Young, The Washington Post "As ever, Nelson''s probing inquiry sits on equal footing with her effortlessly fluid prose, which moves between first-person, anecdotal stories and intense critical examination with the utmost readability. Ultimately Nelson''s approach is one that seeks liberation and transcendence, whether sexual, narcotic, or purely biological--something that radiates palpably from her writing, even when she delves into some of the darkest corners of the human psyche." --Vogue.com "Maggie Nelson is one of America''s leading intellectuals, and her brilliant collection, On Freedom, is a must-read for anyone who wants to deconstruct the most urgent social debates of the day." -- Oprah Daily , Best Books of 2021 "Each essay is thought-provoking and incisive, deepening the complexity and contradictions inherent to our experience of freedom and, simultaneously laying them bare. I haven''t stopped thinking about One Freedom, and I am not certain I ever will.
" --Catherine Whelan, NPR Best Books of 2021 "Nelson''s brainy, affecting, genre-crossing books have earned her a deserved reputation as a sui generis amalgam of poet, memoirist, theorist and critic. This provocative meditation on the ethics of freedom as a source of constraint, as well as liberation, shows her at her most original and brilliant." -- The New York Times , 100 Notable Books of 2021 "Considering the ''freedom drive'' in four realms--art, sex, drugs and the climate crisis--Nelson devotes an expansive essay to each, exploring how notions of liberation and limitation collide." --The Washington Post , Best Nonfiction of 2021 "A deep, thoughtful dive into our modern-day concepts of personal liberty. Nelson''s newest offering is a must-read." --Bustle "Rather than define freedom in exact terms or declare what it is for, Nelson moves through knots of ideology on freedom via ''songs'' of art, sex, drugs, and climate, drawing conclusions . that obliterate the binary of freedom vs. constraint.
On Freedom proves that Nelson continues to do us a great service as a critic, which is to herself digest, and sometimes wrestle with, copious amounts of literature and theory . and to integrate this material into a relatively short book, in an accessible, felicitous voice all Nelson''s own. There are no hot takes in On Freedom. While hot takes are satisfying, they rarely finish the job. If you want to get your hands around something as vast and slippery as freedom, you are going to have to get comfortable moving through an ideological briar patch. On Freedom offers navigation tips, but Nelson''s call to action is a journey that readers must take on their own." --The Boston Globe "A necessary book. Of astonishing cultural significance and among the finest writing of her career.
[On Freedomm, is a must-read for anyone who wants to deconstruct the most urgent social debates of the day." -- Oprah Daily , Best Books of 2021 "Each essay is thought-provoking and incisive, deepening the complexity and contradictions inherent to our experience of freedom and, simultaneously laying them bare. I haven''t stopped thinking about One Freedom, and I am not certain I ever will." --Catherine Whelan, NPR Best Books of 2021 "Nelson''s brainy, affecting, genre-crossing books have earned her a deserved reputation as a sui generis amalgam of poet, memoirist, theorist and critic. This provocative meditation on the ethics of freedom as a source of constraint, as well as liberation, shows her at her most original and brilliant." --<.