Deeply felt ... A profound story about all Black women, and about the effects of racism in all Black lives ... Bonét is a good writer: observant, thoughtful and poetic, in the best sense. Her account of both her family history and the lives of her tributaries show off her gifts to the fullest ... The portraits of her family reveal that weight, as does Bonét’s tendency to step back and offer sweeping digressions about the entirety of Black experience and the agonizing costs of white supremacy ... The volume of broad statements sometimes felt more reductive than expansive, as though forcing the vast river she envisions...through a funnel ... In artfully telling the stories of who stayed alive for her, Bonét has paid a graceful homage to the fictional Eva Peace — and to her own very real family.
Simultaneously a history of American exploitation, a celebration of Black women and an unflinching exploration of family turmoil ... Though devastating and difficult, this book still manages to find hope ... For fans of memoir and history alike, this book will leave readers gutted, awed and, ultimately, grateful.
Stunning ... Mother to her own daughter, Bonét unfurls the beauty of these women alongside their pain and tethers each word to an immediately felt recognition of the sum total that made her the artist she is. Fathoms deep and deeply spellbinding.
A fresh contribution to Black history, rooted in the author’s past ... At times tender, furious, selfish, and sacrificial, these were 'complicated women,' whom Bonét portrays with compassion.
