In Weird but Normal, Mia Mercado, who has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times and Bustle, is hilariously forthcoming about the trials of her life as a millennial woman--workplace sexism, online dating disillusionment, depression, unruly body hair, identity crises and all. "The feeling of not feeling normal" is one Mercado knows well and has come to believe is nothing short of ordinary.
In 33 thematically organized essays, Mercado employs a wry and conversational tone to detail her familiarity with feeling out of place. As a biracial person in the Midwest of the U.S., she's endured so many uninvited questions about her race that her "answer is not only well-rehearsed, it comes equipped with a brief lesson in Filipino history and the etymology of my last name." Another recurring topic is Mercado's prolific online history, beginning with teenage screen names and continuing into adulthood with a stint on a dating app rife with the profiles of "guys with children they adamantly specify they haven't fathered." Whether imagining her routine from her dog's point of view or recalling quitting an unfulfilling job, Mercado skillfully blends lightheartedness, sincerity and satire.
Although Mercado's message--that feeling strange is universal--doesn't come as a surprise, it does come as a proposition worth believing thanks to her unabashed portrayal of her own life's twists and turns. It's this candor paired with her willingness to laugh about it all that makes Mercado at once engaging and inspiring and Weird but Normal a comfort to read. --Sylvia Al-Mateen, freelance reviewer and editor