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Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class Hardcover – September 10, 2024

by Sarah Smarsh (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 53 ratings
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“A must-read for today’s politics” (San Francisco Chronicle), the brilliant and provocative essays that established National Book Award finalist Sarah Smarsh as one of the most important commentators on America’s class problem are collected in one searing and insightful volume.

In Bone of the Bone, Sarah Smarsh brings her graceful storytelling and incisive critique to the challenges that define our times—class division, political fissures, gender inequality, environmental crisis, media bias, the rural-urban gulf. Smarsh, a journalist who grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas and was the first in her family to graduate from college, has long focused on cultural dissonance that many in her industry neglected until recently. Now, this thought-provoking collection of more than thirty of her highly relevant, previously published essays from the past decade (2013–2024)—ranging from personal narratives to news commentary—demonstrates a life and a career steeped in the issues that affect our collective future.

“A compassionate look at working-class poverty in America” (Time), Bone of the Bone is a singular work covering one of the most tumultuous decades in civic life. Timely, filled with perspective-shifting observations, and a pleasure to read, Sarah Smarsh’s essays—on topics as varied as the socioeconomic significance of dentistry, laws criminalizing poverty, fallacies of the “red vs. blue” political framework, working as a Hooters Girl, and much more—are an important addition to any discussion on contemporary America.
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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Scribner
  4. Publication date
    September 10, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.6 x 8.38 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1668055600
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1668055601
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

Named a Best Nonfiction Book of the Year by Electric Literture and Kirkus

A TIME Magazine and Chicago Tribune Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2024
A LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2024

"In one searing—and stunning—collection, Bone of the Bone gives the often-ignored people in what some call ‘flyover country’ their due. [The] intersection of personal and political is where Smarsh’s powers of observation and will to incite change thrive. Bone of the Bone is a collection that offers a multitude of gifts on a variety of heavy-hitting levels and is a must-read for today’s politics."
—San Francisco Chronicle

“[Smarsh’s] writing is both muscular—she writes with such conviction—and anchored in place. Reading someone writing about the state of the grasslands—what is directly outside her window—is such a breath of fresh air."
—Kansas City Star

“Smarsh’s ability to interweave stories—including aspects of her life—places her in the tradition of working-class journalism exemplified by Studs Terkel, Barbara Ehrenreich and others...The deep empathy that animates Smarsh’s prose combines with a rigorous intellect committed to uncovering and explaining structural causes of our current cultural moment."
—Los Angeles Times

"A compassionate look at working-class poverty in America...an insightful collection of essays."
—Time

“We were dazzled by Sarah Smarsh's timely essay collection. Anyone with an interest in politics and class conflict will find this an enriching read.”
—Women.com

“The author of Heartland returns with a collection of pieces that illuminate the plights and humanity of her working-class subjects. This collection’s impact is staggering, and [with] a distinct style, Smarsh’s voice is constant, studied, and compassionate. This powerful reckoning with the costs of being poor should be required short-form nonfiction reading.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Compellling essays combine affecting stories from her life with political arguments...wrenching."
—Booklist

About the Author

Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has reported for The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, The Guardian, and many other publications. Her first book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her second book, She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Smarsh is a frequent political commentator and speaker on socioeconomic class. She lives in Kansas.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner (September 10, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668055600
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1668055601
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.6 x 8.38 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 53 ratings

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4.5 out of 5 stars
53 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the writing style and appreciate the underrepresented perspective. They find the essays well-written and relatable. The essay format allows the author to write about different topics without having to string them together.

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Writing qualityPerspective
4 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality of the book. They find the essays well-written from an underrepresented perspective and relatable. The essay format allows the author to write about different topics without having to string them together into one.

"I love this book, and collection of essays...." Read more

"...It deservedly won several awards. The essay format allows her to write about different topics without having to string them together into one..." Read more

"...I find Sarah Smarsh's observations to be spot on, and enjoy her writing very much...." Read more

"I am huge fan of Sarah Smarsh. These essays are profound and very relatable. I think everyone should read this collection of essays." Read more

3 customers mention "Perspective"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the perspective. They find it insightful and relatable.

"...Very important perspective that is often completely left out of any conversations." Read more

"...BTW I am a city person and still enjoyed and appreciated her point of view and the quality of her writing...." Read more

"I am huge fan of Sarah Smarsh. These essays are profound and very relatable. I think everyone should read this collection of essays." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Sherri
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    I love this book, and collection of essays. As someone with a similar life trajectory - coming from the working class, leaving and then returning home, I felt seen and understood. Very important perspective that is often completely left out of any conversations.
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  • B. Goldberg
    4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling and informative
    Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024
    A compelling collection of previously published essays (but for the gripping last one which is new) by one of America’s foremost chroniclers of American class and political divides. Given the possibility of a Trump 2.0 presidency, Smarsh’s decade of thoughtful essays reminds us how we got here, and breaks apart the many myths the media attaches to her home state of Kansas and the people she grew up with and raised by. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the E-arc
    2 people found this helpful
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  • D. Webb
    5.0 out of 5 stars well written essays from underrepresented perspective
    Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    The author of Heartland has published her essays in book form. Heartland was a rare find, a book that described her life and the life of her family and friends growing up in the rural Midwest. It deservedly won several awards. The essay format allows her to write about different topics without having to string them together into one cohesive unit such as Heartland. Her essays touch on many aspects of rural life and how it is not always understood or appreciated by city folks. BTW I am a city person and still enjoyed and appreciated her point of view and the quality of her writing. This book is highly recommended for everyone.
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  • Moe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written Point of View Book.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This series of essays by a Kansas author centers on her point that it is dangerous to make generalities about people from their home geography and socio-economic backgrounds. Not all people from "Red States" nor "Working Class" people think and act alike. I am a 5th generation Kansan, although I have moved away a few times to very "Blue" locations. I find Sarah Smarsh's observations to be spot on, and enjoy her writing very much. She is definitely left of center in her viewpoints, so not everyone will agree, but she makes her points without being combative or condescending.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I am huge fan of Sarah Smarsh. These essays are profound and very relatable. I think everyone should read this collection of essays.
    One person found this helpful
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  • BookReporter
    5.0 out of 5 stars The best of Sarah Smarsh
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    We'd all be better off if everyone read this book of essays focused on appreciation of ALL Americans.
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  • mona lisa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Takes me back
    Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2024
    My mothers family lived in Eastern Colorado. My husband a California native was amused when visiting relatives all had compasses on their cars until we visited and he saw why. You could drive a long way in the wrong direction because the landscape was the same through the prairie states.
    My parents moved to the mountains of Colorado when I was a baby but we always went to my grandmothers for the holidays until I was 8 and we moved to California. Although never at home on the plains but always a guest this book brought back a lot of memories. I never thought of my relatives in Colorado as being poor even though I knew their lives were different from mine. My paternal grandmother showed me to an outhouse when I asked to go to the bathroom and my cousins who lived in the country on a ranch had similar facilities. I remember too playing hide and seek with them and discovering the little hanging nooses for the chickens. This book was a journey back in time for me
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  • no.more.shelf.control
    5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Look at those Unseen
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2024
    𝑩𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉 is one of those books that I was anxiously anticipating for months. So much so, I was able to start reading the ARC from @scribnerbooks via @netgalley. When I saw her booktour was coming, I also knew I would go and have the gorgeous physical copy in my hands. (I have also listened to parts of the audiobook.)

    If you are unaware of Sarah Smarsh, she wrote the bestselling HEARTLAND, A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth. She also wrote, SHE COME BY IT NATURAL: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs.

    This book is a collection of her journalistic essays that have been published in a wide variety of publications, primarily centering on socioeconomic class in America from the perspective of one who has lived it. Starting in 2013 and ending in 2024, it is a bit history lesson and memoir to go back and relive some of these events.

    What I read resonated with many of my own experiences growing up on a family farm in Kansas. The monolith that is painted of the rural Midwest has been a source of bullied embarrassment (I wasn't aware I was supposed to be embarrassed until I traveled elsewhere), and simultaneously a feeling of sibling pride (only I can knock on Kansas since I live here, but you are absolutely not allowed.) For the record, I am so grateful to have been raised on a farm, worked fields as young as I can remember, and had to quit drinking milk when we had to go to "store" milk as our milking source had retired. I also know it is a much more nuanced place than most concede.

    The class system is absolutely alive and well in the US, but I have not the eloquence to state this with such gifted and honed words as Smarsh. I appreciated so much the honoring and lifting up of the humanity of so many who are ignored. I see this class system heavily applied to the care of our elders with my care home visits, and it can be tough some days.

    I highly recommend this book, especially for those who feel like there is something missing in our discourse.
    5 people found this helpful
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