Reading The Deep is akin to being beaten half to death; it is painful and traumatic and life altering.

Centered around a fictional race of mermaid-like creatures born of the magically saved babies of pregnant African women thrown overboard on their way to the Americas, this story is all about the pain of remembering ancestral trauma, the urge to hide from unpleasant truths, and the threads that tie people to their heritage. The whole thing is a profoundly painful metaphor for a profoundly painful reality. As I read, I found myself wincing at the horror of it all.

This book is not very long, but it took me two months to finish and two more months to review because, quite frankly, it bummed me out. But it was so necessary, especially in this current political climate, and I am grateful that I read it.