Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles Blow

When we talk about America's history of segregation, its not just about race and class, but also about geography.  Even as the civil right movement would begin to take hold in the late 60’s and seventies, there were parts of America, particularly in the rural South, that we untouched by that progress.  Places where slavery was not just a legacy to be overcome, but still in the fabric of the cultural DNA of place.

It is into this landscape that a young boy grows up, prematurely comes of age due to familial sexual abuse and yet has the strength, courage, and intelligence to make it out. To become not just a pillar of the NY Times editorial page, but a man brave enough  share his sometimes painful story.  That man is Charles Blow. His new memoir is Fire Shut Up in My Bones.

My conversation with Charles Blow: