A New York Times Notable Book
Lambda Literary Award Winner
Long-listed for the PEN Open Book Award
"Charles Blow is the James Baldwin of our age." - Washington Blade
Universally praised on its publication, "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" is a pioneering journalist's indelible coming-of-age tale. Blow's mother was a fiercely driven woman with five sons, brass knuckles in her glove box, and a job plucking poultry at a factory near their segregated Louisiana town. When her philandering husband final...
A New York Times Notable Book
Lambda Literary Award Winner
Long-listed for the PEN Open Book Award
"Charles Blow is the James Baldwin of our age." - Washington Blade
Universally praised on its publication, "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" is a pioneering journalist's indelible coming-of-age tale. Blow's mother was a fiercely driven woman with five sons, brass knuckles in her glove box, and a job plucking poultry at a factory near their segregated Louisiana town. When her philandering husband finally pushed her over the edge, she fired a pistol at his fleeing back, missing every shot, thanks to "love that blurred her vision and bent the barrel." Charles was the baby of the family, fiercely attached to his "do-right" mother, until one day that divided his life into two halves- the day an older cousin took advantage of the young boy.
The story of how Charles escaped that world, to recognize his bisexuality, and to become one of America's most respected public figures is a stirring journey that works its way into the deepest chambers of the heart.