“Brilliant, illuminating. . . Meticulously researched, sweeping in its historical breadth, damning in its clear-eyed assessment of facts and yet hopeful in its outlook, Under the Skin is a must-read for all who affirm that Black lives matter.”
—The Washington Post
“Singular and expansive. . . In this eminently admirable book, there are no easy answers or platitudes.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Perhaps one of the most important and thought-provoking publications of the year is Linda Villarosa’s groundbreaking Under the Skin. . . It’s a stunning exposé of why Black people in our society ‘live sicker and die quicker’—an eye-opening game changer.”
—Oprah Daily
“Gripping, incisive”
—The Boston Globe
“Villarosa’s empathic and sharp-sighted journalism is as astute as it is groundbreaking, as brilliant as it is timely. Let the conversations begin!”
—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author of Red at the Bone
“It’s no secret that Black people are subject to the cumulative effects of systemic racism. But Linda Villarosa’s Under the Skin walks us through the inevitable consequences of living in a racist country on our bodies, our environments, and our healthcare system. The cultural manifestations of the physical and psychological traumas affecting Black People alter or distort all our lives. Those of us who understand that structural violence has physical ramifications will be in debt to Under the Skin. I am grateful for the arrival of this book. It is a relief to have the truth of racialized trauma exposed in such cogent, undeniable writing and with such genius analysis. This is journalism at its finest. If you read one book this year, let it be this one.”
—Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen: An American Lyric