Powerful and painful, this is a must-read. Actually, it may be a must-listen. Jesmyn Ward reads the audio book. Her voice truly speaks the pain that is felt throughout the book. The book sits you in the middle and is written in a way that helps the reader feel what they feel in a time when we weren’t there. It’s a time where I feel like we often distance ourselves from and try to make it seem less abhorrent than it was. Jesmyn Ward, however, brings it to life and refuses to allow us to distance ourselves from it. It’s real. It’s raw. It’s beautiful. It’s painful.