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A review by mattdube
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
4.0
This was really good. I don't read a ton of history, especially material history, but the story here-- a sack embroidered with a lineage going back to slavery-- was captivating enough to make me want to read it, and I learned a lot, fact-wise and in terms of process.
There are moments when I strained, or Miles did, where she reaches hard for the power of love to rec across generations, which I struggled to swallow as fully as I did talk about the clothing styles of the "Black Victorians" of Charleston, for example. But there's enough here that I really liked, from that section to some stuff about the different shapes slavery took and the final links between these women and what we can conclude about them. This was a revealing read, and even with its more speculative and woowoo moments, I think it's really valuable and I'm glad I read it.
There are moments when I strained, or Miles did, where she reaches hard for the power of love to rec across generations, which I struggled to swallow as fully as I did talk about the clothing styles of the "Black Victorians" of Charleston, for example. But there's enough here that I really liked, from that section to some stuff about the different shapes slavery took and the final links between these women and what we can conclude about them. This was a revealing read, and even with its more speculative and woowoo moments, I think it's really valuable and I'm glad I read it.