"Discover the transformative journey within the pages of Working On Me by Nikki Patin. This book is a captivating blend of humor, wisdom, depth, and beauty, offering readers a profound exploration of bravery and self-acceptance. Nikki Patin's words resonate as a guiding beacon, illuminating the path toward a stronger, more authentic self. Dive into this wonderfully layered and complex narrative, and find the inspiration you need to embrace your own courageous evolution." Dr. Ni'Cola Mitchell, Entrepreneur, Executive Producer for Lifetime Movie Network

"If writing is emotional excavation, then Working On Me is like the unearthing of the Roman city of Pompeii. Even covered with dust, dirt, and grime, this gem of a book can't help but shine. I've covered Nikki's work for many years, and I'm so excited more people will have a chance to learn her formidable story." Tracy Baim, Cofounder, Windy City Times and former Publisher, Chicago Reader

"Nikki's writing is world-splitting. Fast, crucial, intimate, high, deep, it has the undeniable shine of a brilliant being finding her way in a world that cannot handle her shine. Yet. But she is showing us how. She is writing us a map. Follow it. You'll be glad you did." cin salach, author of When I Am Yes

"Nikki Patin's Working On Me is a book about everything-transcendent creativity and generational hurt, relentless pain and effervescent joy, elusive trauma and remorseless triumph. It's also a book that obeys no rules except for the ones it has invented for itself: here we have a first-person memoir, narrated with third person omniscience, interrogated by an epistolary address that reminds us that all the stories that we tell about ourselves can never stand still. Patin is a writer who shows us what it means to go everywhere, to see everything, to turn away from nothing. In Working On Me, she doesn't just tell the stories of her past; she becomes those stories, becomes the people in them, and by becoming everyone she teaches us all what it means to become herself. This book is a fearless, voiceful, middle finger of joy." Jaed Coffin, author of A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants

"In Working on Me, Nikki Patin sings into the darkest corners of her story, infusing her trauma with a vibrant, urgent light. She refuses to be invisible-every inch of her, every word of this book, demands to be fully seen. She sculpts this story the way she sculpts her life: with love, self-awareness, determination, talent, and all the rage she has so rightfully earned. Through this narrative, Pain sings herself back to life." Penny Guisinger, author of Postcards from Here

"Nikki Patin's Working on Me is a miracle of a book. With a myriad of voices, including the author's own, it tells necessary truths about America, about race and class, about the literary world, about sexism and rape culture, about family scars and family love. Both confessional and self-critical it recounts the powerful story of courage, tenacity, and survival that is the author's own-and yet this book also helps us hear the stories of so many whom our culture still refuses to hear." David Mura, author of A Stranger's Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing

"A Chicago-based spoken word artist who never fails to mesmerize on stage is, it turns out, just as mesmerizing in print... Moving within and between worlds as part of, in her own words, a "Black, Russian, Jewish interracial family" from Chicago's south side, Nikki reminds us that our identities, like our histories, are complex and fluid-and that there is beauty to be found in that fluidity. A must-read." Anne K. Ream, author of Lived Through This: Listening to the Stories of Sexual Violence Survivors