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Mixed Up: An Irish Boy’s Journey to Belonging: An Irish Boy’s Journey to Belonging
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 13, 2025
I received an eARC from the publisher in preparation for an interview with the author. This has not affected my opinions.
I am not a big memoir reader - if we ignore historical biographies (which serve a different function to those of people still alive or very recently deceased), then this is the third I've read in my life. I'm not sure why this is because they're fascinating insights into other people, be they public figures or not. Possibly because, despite the fact they are books put out there for public consumption, it can feel very intrusive at times, crawling into people's lives.
In spite of this voice in my head, MIXED UP is an engaging and deeply emotional memoir about a young, mixed-race man growing up in Ireland.
The book deals a lot with how Leon has dealt - or not - with his emotions over the years. Given how often it is presented as "manly" not to be all "emotional", I really appreciated how honest Leon was about the various problems with how he handled strong emotions over his childhood. It pushes back at the toxic narratives around how "being strong" is often said to mean not being emotional.
Likewise, he also explores how important being kind is to being strong. The line that sums it up is "hard outside, soft inside". This lesson is one that is in particular contrast to a society that idolises and often demands physical strength in men.
The ending was particularly emotional, I found. The last chapter is Leon talking to his younger self at five points in his life. It's full of encouragement and love for the trials his younger self was going through - and lessons he wished he'd known then. It's very raw and very honest, and makes you wonder what you'd like to tell a younger version of yourself.
I am not a big memoir reader - if we ignore historical biographies (which serve a different function to those of people still alive or very recently deceased), then this is the third I've read in my life. I'm not sure why this is because they're fascinating insights into other people, be they public figures or not. Possibly because, despite the fact they are books put out there for public consumption, it can feel very intrusive at times, crawling into people's lives.
In spite of this voice in my head, MIXED UP is an engaging and deeply emotional memoir about a young, mixed-race man growing up in Ireland.
The book deals a lot with how Leon has dealt - or not - with his emotions over the years. Given how often it is presented as "manly" not to be all "emotional", I really appreciated how honest Leon was about the various problems with how he handled strong emotions over his childhood. It pushes back at the toxic narratives around how "being strong" is often said to mean not being emotional.
Likewise, he also explores how important being kind is to being strong. The line that sums it up is "hard outside, soft inside". This lesson is one that is in particular contrast to a society that idolises and often demands physical strength in men.
The ending was particularly emotional, I found. The last chapter is Leon talking to his younger self at five points in his life. It's full of encouragement and love for the trials his younger self was going through - and lessons he wished he'd known then. It's very raw and very honest, and makes you wonder what you'd like to tell a younger version of yourself.
October 16, 2025
Leon’s memoir is a pacy, no holds barred account of growing up mixed-race in Ireland and the journey of self-acceptance and personal understanding that entailed whilst encountering prejudice and the places it took him along the way.
It was a genuinely fascinating read and I found myself looking at his academic career and thinking this kid definitely has ADHD on top of everything else. The journey he went through that led through his university career, almost crashing out hauling himself back rising to president of the student union, taking on the transport authority along with the overt and microagressions he found that led to the founding of Black and Irish whilst highlight just how far western society still has to come in terms of race is incredibly moving and challenging.
His family life is no less moving, despite the chaos and the hurt that marked his early childhood, the incredible bond he has with his Irish family and the connections he goes on to forge with his African family are so uplifting and have lessons to teach us about our own prejudices and preconceived notions.
This is a really enjoyable book and fantastic for making one consider ones own privilege.
November 26, 2025
Mixed Up is a fast paced, informative memoir about being mixed-race in Ireland and his personal journey surrounding that. Taking you from birth to his current life, I enjoyed learning more on a subject that I had previously not touched upon.
Being in chronological order really helped the flow of the book. At times I found it hard to put down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers and authors for access to this book.
Being in chronological order really helped the flow of the book. At times I found it hard to put down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers and authors for access to this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews