This Here Flesh

I discovered Cole Arthur Riley through her breath prayers and curated wisdom around liberation through her Black Liturgies account on Instagram. Her words in this book are poetry and good medicine for my soul.

Her story of learning to love her physical body as she lives with chronic pain is wise and freeing. I didn’t know how much I needed her wise reimagining of the story of the garden, the fall, and what it means to find home. 

As someone who has been battling chronic health issue for more than two decades, I cannot sing loud enough praises for this book. Incredibly insightful, painfully honest, and beautifully written.

This book is about story: ours, hers, and those we love. Cole Arthur Riley is brilliant and wise beyond her years. I hope she's working on her next book.

I normally don’t read personal essays, but from the moment I cracked open this book, I was sucked in by the lyrical words. Each chapter had something I could personally relate to and brought me to tears. Riley weaves so much emotion into every sentence, highlighting very personal struggles and generational pain in such a poignant way that you have to slow down to savor every word. This is by far my favorite nonfiction book.