BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — “They forgive us for leaving, we’re okay too, yes, right where we belong,” Author Gabriel Bump reads the last line of his first published novel. Published in February, "Everywhere you Don't Belong" is a story about a young black man figuring out who he wants to be and where he fits in the world.
“It follows a young man on the south side of Chicago as he navigates growing up black in America, it navigates family pressure to be a brilliant exceptional person but he is just an average kid,” Bump said.
Bump grew-up on the south side of Chicago and has lived in Buffalo for two years. His book is a story of fiction… but Bump says there are many truths to what the main character Claude experiences in his life.
“The book focuses a lot on how the structures in our country can make it difficult for young people of color to just kinda live their lives,” Bump said.
His main message he hopes people take away…
“The unintentional message of this book, I didn’t set out to end up with... is you know the place you belong is around people that love you," Bump said. "Less about the exact setting but more about the love that you experience, like the care you can receive in a place.”
This book landed bump on Amazon’s good reads list for black authors in June.
He’s now hoping to have another book out by spring... And is drafting a third novel based in Buffalo.
You can pick up “Everywhere you Don’t Belong” at local bookstores and on Amazon for $25.
