Kids in America A Gen X Reckoning

Generation X was born between the legions of Baby Boomers and Millennials, and was all but written off as cynical, sarcastic slackers. Yet, Gen X's impact on culture and society is undeniable. In her revealing and provocative essay collection, Kids in America: Essays on Gen X, Liz Prato reveals a generation deeply affected by terrorism, racial inequality, rape culture, and mental illness in an era when none of these issues were openly discussed. Examined through the lens of her high school and family, Prato reveals a small, forgotten cohort shaped as much by Sixteen Candles and Beverly Hills, 90210, as it was by the Rodney King riots and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Prato is unflinching in asking hard questions of her peers about what behavior was then acceptable or overlooked, and how we reconcile those sins today. Kids in America illuminates a generation that is often cited, but rarely examined beyond the gloss of nostalgia.

Liz Prato is the author of Volcanoes, Palm Trees, and Privilege: Essays on Hawai‘i, a 2019 New York Times Top Summer Read, and finalist for the Oregon Book Award; and Baby’s on Fire: Stories. Her essays and stories have appeared in numerous publications, including River Teeth, The Rumpus, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Salon, and Subtropics, and was chosen as notable selections for Best American Essays and Best American Sports Writing in 2018. Prato is also Editor at Large for Forest Avenue Press, and has been a licensed massage therapist for over 25 years.