The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less

Children’s book author Platt (Ana & Andrew) recounts her transformation from bargain-shopping maximalist to mindful minimalist in this inspiring guide. While “You can whittle down your belongings to fit into a single carry-on suitcase,” she writes, “unless you do the work to understand why you had so much stuff in the first place... you’ll end up back at square one faster than you think.” In each chapter, she presents questions intended to make readers aware of patterns (“Do I believe that owning certain items causes people to see or respect me differently?”) then helps readers whittle down their possessions using a four-step process: acknowledging that one has too much, forgiving oneself for past choices, letting go of possessions (by asking what purpose items fulfill), and paying it forward to charitable organizations. Platt eschews traditional minimalism and frames what she keeps in terms of an “afrominimalism” that’s influenced by the African diaspora (her “curated” belongings, for example, consist of “Ankara pillows, playful textiles, and mud cloth”), but her guidance will apply to consumers of any background. Readers looking for ways to happily live with less should check this out. Agent: Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect. (June)