For my first giveaway in 2012 I am giving away two items:
Item 1: How to Die in Paris by Naturi Thomas
How to Die in Paris was released on November 22nd 2011. It’s a travel memoir by a woman of color which is something that is a novelty in literature. As its title suggest, How to Die in Paris is an intense story with dark undertones. Without giving too much away, I will say that in the end the author finds the light. Naturi Thomas is an excellent writer! Here is the synopsis:
How to Die in Paris is an edgy, poetic, often darkly comic, memoir of a young middle-class black woman who escapes a tortured past in New York to pursue a new life in Europe—only to find herself broke, desperate, and contemplating suicide on the streets of Paris.
Penniless, scared, and hoping for rescue, Thomas turns to a series of unlikely male suitors: an impoverished Italian who exposes her to the reality of immigrant struggle, a fast-talking squatter who lures her into Paris’s street youth culture, and a beautiful Tunisian who takes her home . . . only to introduce her to a world of pain. Each encounter awakens in her memories from her childhood—memories of the abuse and racism she experienced at the hands of her mother—and forces her to confront the darkness in her past, even as she struggles to survive in the present.
Though the trials she faces in Paris are often harrowing, Thomas is anything but self-pitying, often culling humor from gritty moments, and she finds goodness in the small blessings that come her way: a library that offers warmth and escape, a sandwich abandoned in a phone booth, the generosity of strangers, and especially, the wonder of Paris itself. Ultimately, being homeless in the City of Light frees her of the denial and defenses that have been holding her back all her life—revealing a broader world too beautiful to leave.
Item 2: Forever 21 Paris Tote
For some reason the tote is showing up white and pink in this photo; it’s actually gray and pink. So keep that in mind. This tote is now sold out on forever 21.com, so this giveaway is the only way to own it! 
How to enter giveaway: To enter this giveaway, subscribe to the blog by clicking the subscribe button on the right side of the page and enter your email address. That’s it! Easy peeezy! If you’re already subscribed, just let me know you would like to enter this giveaway in the comments section below. Giveaway ends January 27th 2012. Winner will be announced on January 28th.
Note: Photos found here and here. I do not own any rights.
