Opposites and Everything In-Between

Book excerpt: Maygen McDougall is a wise young working-class woman who has done her best to navigate through twenty-one years of life, despite her challenges, obstacles, and sorrows. In a frank sometimes humorous memoir that highlights her coming-of-age journey to date, McDougall recounts her experiences from her early teenage years until today. While sharing insight into her life, heartbreak, joys, and misadventures, McDougall explores a variety of topics that include suicide, sexual assault, race, class struggles, bisexuality, and worst of all, working in retail. Included are photographs as well as her thoughts about mean girls, ignorance, America’s riots, and the opposites of life. Throughout the retelling of her story as a product of Generation Z, McDougall reminds others of the importance of seeing both sides of the coin, no matter how dark it may be, and laughter, even during the hardest of times. Opposites and Everything In-Between is the true story of a young English woman’s experiences as she embraces all life has to offer, both good and bad, while discovering her identity amid a working-class world.