This Here Flesh

The creator of Black Liturgies braids stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the "necessary rituals" that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.

"Sometimes I wonder if we knelt down and put our ear to the ground, it would whisper to us, yes, you were made in the image of God, but God made you of me...Perhaps the more superior we believe ourselves to be to creation, the less like God we become."

So, writes Cole Arthur Riley in her stunning debut, an unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and the way they encountered moments of enfleshed, embodied spirituality. As she also writes memorably of her own lived experiences of childhood and selfhood, Arthur Riley boldly, explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith: What does salvation have, to do with liberation? How can spirituality not mute the body, but instead allow it to come alive? In these indelible meditations, Arthur Rileyinvites, readers to reflect on the core experiences of the spiritual life, such as rest, wonder, joy, rage, and repair, finding that our humanity is not an enemy to faith, but evidence of it.

At once a compelling spiritual meditation and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh speaks potently, to anyone hungry, to feel seen within, the arena of faith.