This was so captivating. It was initially a little hard to get into because of the protagonist’s way of narrating was a bit hard for me.

This is exquisitely written. You almost have to stop at each paragraph to admire how it is constructed and how well the author uses words of description and dialog. It's simply breathtaking. The story itself is also incredibly vital and the reader will be easily entranced. It speaks to both history and present life. I could write a description of the story and the characters but I will leave that to others. I just want to say GET THIS BOOK!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I look forward to seeing the impact it has on the literary world!

In the small town of Uz, Arkansas, Mandy Anderson wakes up on July 4th, 1963, her mother’s birthday, to the sweltering Southern heat, a pounding headache, and the distinct thumping of her mother, Belle, kneading biscuit dough. In the raw heat, only made worse by Belle’s baking, Mandy questions why the white woman her mother works for wouldn’t want to give Belle the day off for her birthday. So begins Mandy’s journey of questioning the structures that define her world, a path that carries her through tragedy, mystical encounters, and her own spiritual and familial legacy. Keep A'Livin' is a testament to all the people and organizations that worked on the local grassroots level to create the most successful social justice movement in US history. Told from the perspective of the two protagonists, this mother and daughter are living thru this tumultuous time while the daughter is testing the boundaries of the extraordinary changes happening all around her. Grappling with grief, ancestral trauma, and a family, community, and society in flux, Mandy dares to dream of a future outside the limitations of racism and patriarchy. This beautifully lyrical novel explores the reality of activism as more than just a handful of speeches given at protests, the costs to those who dedicate themselves to activist work, and the passion that drives us ever onward to a better, more just future.