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A ruthless & razor-sharp essay collection that tackles the pervasive, creeping oppression & toxicity that has wormed its way into society—in our books, schools, & homes, as well as the systems that perpetuate them—from the acclaimed author of Mean, and one of our fiercest, foremost explorers of intersectional Latinx identity.

A creep can be a singular figure, a villain who makes things go bump in the night. Yet creep is also what the fog does—it lurks into place to do its dirty work, muffling screams, obscuring the truth, & providing cover for those prowling within it. Creep is Myriam Gurba’s informal sociology of creeps, a deep dive into the dark recesses of the toxic traditions that plague the United States & create the abusers who haunt our books, schools, & homes.

Through cultural criticism disguised as personal essay, Gurba studies the ways in which oppression is collectively enacted, sustaining ecosystems that unfairly distribute suffering & premature death to our most vulnerable. Yet identifying individual creeps, creepy social groups, & creepy cultures is only half of this book’s project—the other half is examining how we as individuals, communities, & institutions can challenge creeps & rid ourselves of the fog that seeks to blind us.

With her ruthless mind, wry humor, & adventurous style, Gurba implicates everyone from Joan Didion to her former abuser, everything from Mexican stereotypes to the carceral state. Braiding her own history & identity throughout, she argues for a new way of conceptualizing oppression, & she does it with her signature blend of bravado & humility.