Jo-Issa Rae Diop

Issa is the narrator and the focal character in the book. She is the eponymous “Awkward Black Girl” whose “Misadventures” the book recounts. Issa Rae is a well-known actress, writer, and television producer in her mid-30s. She grew up in Maryland, Dakar, and Los Angeles and attended Stanford University, where she was active in theater and produced her first web-series called, “Dorm Diaries.”

From an early age she was acutely aware of her social awkwardness and went through various stages of questioning her body image and sense of cultural and communal belonging. Her large family has its unique traits and customs, which have influenced her sense of self and social position. As she recounts, her attraction to film, theater and television stemmed from her own search for a comfortable identity and sense of affiliation that she sought throughout her childhood. Her sense of humor...