Skin and Bones by Renee Watson

 

ABOUT

From the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a soulful and lyrical novel exploring sisterhood, motherhood, faith, love, and ultimately what gets passed down from one generation to the next   At 40, Lena Baker is at a steady and stable moment in life—between wine nights with her two best friends and her wedding just weeks away, she’s happy in love and in friendship until a confession on her wedding day shifts her world. Unmoored and grieving a major loss, Lena finds herself trying to teach her daughter self-love while struggling to do so herself. Lena questions everything she’s learned about dating, friendship, and motherhood, and through it all, she works tirelessly to bring the oft-forgotten Black history of Oregon to the masses, sidestepping her well-meaning co-workers that don’t understand that their good intentions are often offensive and hurtful. Through Watson’s poetic voice, skin & bones is a stirring exploration of who society makes space for and is ultimately a story of heartbreak and healing.

MY THOUGHTS

A poetic and beautifully written novel.

In Skin and Bones we follow 40 year old Lena as she deals with family, identity and even loss.

Lena's story takes us on a journey of understanding what life is like as a plus size black woman in the US. This story has deepened my appreciation for the importance of self love. Lena would not have been able to face her trials unless she accepted and loved herself.

I love how the author managed also to include some black history in the book. She was clever to weave it into a project that Lena was working on. That part was excellent skillful writing. I really enjoyed this one.