Durand Jones�s Wait �Til I Get Over is a memoir and a love letter.�It is the story of Jones�s life, his growth and revelations, the�wisdom of his hometown and the wisdom he could only gain�once he left. In it, he writes through Hillaryville�s contradictions:�the pristine beauty and the ragged roads; his teenage desire�to leave and his adult desire to honor his tangled roots; the�plantation history and the ups and downs of the Black community�that made homes of this reparation town. �Hometowns have a�way of keeping a part of you,� says Jones, �and if I�m making�something young-me would be proud of, Hillaryville is a big part�of that.� Jones finds something transformative in his memories�there and the life he has led since, ultimately claiming and�embracing his whole self.�

The result is vulnerable, personal, touching on Jones�s�relationship to church life, to his mother, to his queerness, to�his worth. �I wish I could tell my younger self �you don�t have to�stick to the dreams people have for you,�� says Jones, ��you can�dream bigger. You are more than capable, you are more than�able. I think about some nerdy punk kid in the rural south who�needs to hear that now.�� Wait �Til I Get Over does exactly that.