Thank you to Scribner for the Advanced Book Review!

Painful yet beautiful, Jesmyn Ward's newest novel depicts what it means to become a woman when your soul.is owned by someone else. To own your truth and power, to build your inner strength, to draw upon your built environment. Ward takes an unflinching look at the particular cruelties of the Southern Plantations, especially in New Orleans, while continually celebrating the enduring spirit of the free Black woman. The element of the supernatural added another layer of complexity- how grief and tradition can both support us and restrict us from accessing our truest selves. What I loved the most was the vivid descriptions of nature. This is a book that will stay in your soul for a long time.