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The Waterbearers

bySasha Bonét

A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters

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Paperback

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When Sasha Bonét’s grandmother, Betty Jean, raised eleven children in a Texas bayou house, she did it alone, creating a home that was the heart of their family. Her daughter, Mama Connie, vowed to live differently but found herself echoing her mother’s struggles. Now, Sasha navigates motherhood, reflecting on the legacies of Black women like Nina Simone, Betty Davis, Rosa Parks and Darnella Frazier (the woman who told the world about George Floyd) to build a portrait of Black womanhood through time.

In The Waterbearers, Bonét explores the trials and triumphs of Black matriarchy, weaving personal history with cultural narratives. From mundane yet powerful mornings at the kitchen table to moments of courageously taking on the world at large in the fight for dignity, Bonét’s clear-eyed tenderness reveals the strength and resilience of Black women in America with universal themes that stretch beyond it – escape, promise, burden, assent and rebellion.

Bonét’s narrative captures the essence of generational strength, showing how the past shapes the present, the enduring spirit of Black matriarchy and highlighting the sacrifices and triumphs that define their journey. The Waterbearers is not just a memoir but a powerful commentary on the intersection of personal and cultural history, making it a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of Black womanhood.

‘Sasha Bonét’s The Waterbearers is a bold new entry in the canon of literature about Black motherhood. With great intention and beauty, Bonét explores what it means to care for others and for oneself in the matrix of race, class and gender that powers American culture. A beautiful counternarrative to the ways motherhood – and Black motherhood specifically – are usually imagined in American literature, this is an intricately constructed sonnet on the inherent complexities in mothering another person.’

., Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie

About Sasha Bonét

SASHA BONÉT is a writer and cultural critic based in New York City. Her criticism and essays have appeared in The Paris Review, Aperture, New York Magazine, Vogue, and BOMB, among other publications. Bonét is a professor of creative writing for Columbia University and Barnard College.
Details
  • Imprint: Merky Books
  • ISBN: 9781529979640
  • Length: 320 pages
  • Price: £16.99