Skinny House by Julie L. Seely

Julie L. Seely’s Skinny House is a true American story, one of perseverance and struggle, of poverty and the graft it takes to pull one out of it. So much more than a memoir of a black family’s journey through the Great Depression, this memoir is a reflection on past generations, as Seely revives her ancestors’ stories with emotional grace and literary clarity. With a wonderful selection of old photographs, newspaper clippings, and other archival images, Seely adds vivid color to the past that for so many of us exists in stark monochrome. Indicative of a rich and storied upbringing, Seely weaves together the past and the present with tremendous insight.