Maeve Higgins is a marvelous human and exceptional writer. Her essays teem with compassionate curiosity. Wide ranging in topic, this collection peeks under the rocks of America from the bemused but charmed view of an immigrant writer. One essay talked about the time Higgins accidentally ate way too many edibles and realized it while on an errand to the Paper Source that got *~trippy~*. Another recounts her experience visiting the Border Patrol expo in Texas. Still another discusses how 90 Day Fiancé is a perfect lens into misguided American exceptionalism.

What makes this book particularly good is Higgins’s openness. She doesn’t approach any topic looking for a fight, fists balled and poised to strike. Instead, she optimistically views humanity has generally alright, albeit peculiar and often rather foolish (not even excluding herself… see: accidental weed brownies). I’ll also say her essay on climate change (titled Death Tax) was so passionate and moving and tenderly written. It’ll stick with me for a long time and alone is worth the price of the book.