{"product_id":"desperate-bodies","title":"Desperate Bodies","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e\"Broke my heart from the very first page . . . literary shock and awe at its finest.”—Deesha Philyaw, author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Confessions of First Lady Freeman\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eFrom a ferocious new talent, a debut story collection excavating the desire, humor, and horror in the everyday lives of Black women and girls—for readers of Deesha Philyaw and Kelly Link\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWith a voice that vibrates on the page, Lydia Mathis’ debut collection is set in the American South and her sharply drawn, authentic characters shine a light on what we’re willing to do to ourselves and to others in service of our desires. The madness in the ordinary rules here: an overworked college safety officer is confronted by a bloody figure who walks into her office; a sex worker runs into a client en route to a parent-teacher conference; a teacher is plagued by a ghost determined to tidy her apartment.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eDesperate Bodies\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003edepicts the fragility, strength, and unruliness of Black women and girls’ bodies and the power in being honest about their desires. In unflinching prose, Mathis takes a frank and determined look at what it means to be subjected to imbalances of power through the perspectives of young girls and adult women. With surprising turns and a touch of the supernatural, these stories refuse to look away from the most honest, raw moments of womanhood.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVisceral and unyielding, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eDesperate Bodies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a thrillingly dark ride that introduces Lydia Mathis as a major new writer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lydia Mathis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45500899131568,"sku":null,"price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0528\/6821\/9056\/files\/81V1tzf6fKL._SL1500.jpg?v=1785826184","url":"https:\/\/www.umojabooks.com\/products\/desperate-bodies","provider":"Umoja House ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}