A review by bobbieshiann
An Autobiography of Skin by Lakiesha Carr

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I almost forgot that the enjoyment of a book does not have to be lasting, but what you take from it can be. An Autobiography of Skin was a hit and a miss for me. Three stories connected in some way, detail the body and skin in ways that are relatable and aching. Yesterday Was a Dream, Today Is a Miracle spreads vulnerability throughout its pages as Carr details the body, from its vulmptousiness to its aging as the skin sags over. Carr address the once youthfulness turned into old age and how colorism in our community is present. “Well hell, we all black in the dark. I figure you might as well be a nigga somewhere. If not in this place, at this hour”. (reference to a Black man of lighter complexion). 

Lost Your Head Blues tells of the transformation of the body during pregnancy, the complications of carrying a baby, undiagnosed postpartum depression, and how a mother gets lost in the deaths of other Black bodies as she starts to lose herself. The relationship before the babies was one of growth and individual self until the routine of life was no longer justifiable. After kids, Mya was childlike herself as her children’s crying was soothed with her own tears until they fell asleep. Her madness turned into the bleaching of her children’s skin, but she had a purpose. If their brown skin can turn pink, her babies can pass for white. Can be safe in a world where Black bodies are not safe by any means. “Don’t you watch the news? You see the Black and brown boys kill each other and the white men kill them all. I figured if my boys have white skin, at least they have a chance. A camouflage. Protection”. 

An Autobiography of Skin was my least favorite story until I sat with it. With the understanding of how flawed the word “love” is, how fragile, compassionate, and so close to lust that it can shatter a body both physically and mentally. The body abused for materialistic things is pierced with bullets from an ex-lover’s rage but then there is the way the body betrayed you personally. The way it weathered away or held so much weight, you can’t put one foot in front of the other without help. “And you remember Mama told you this, everybody we love and the ways we choose to love ‘em ain’t gon always line up with how we think love supposed to be. How we was taught”. 

Side note: Men play a role in each story, and there is almost no complete ending besides the last story that holds healing.