Tending to Our Wounds - by Edna Bonhomme

Book Synopsis

A courageous excavation of the deep wounds that racism and colonialism have left on Black people across borders, and an imaginative effort to care for oneself and one's community in the wake.

Born in a close-knit Haitian enclave in Miami, Edna Bonhomme was raised to fight for her community--at first for their rights as immigrants, and then as part of the Occupy and Black Lives Matter movements. Later, as an immigrant in Berlin, she encountered species of racism and of resistance that were new and different in some ways but fueled by the same legacy of colonial power.

With astute insight and immersive prose, Bonhomme outlines a personal and political history of life in the United States, Haiti, and Germany, discovering what it means to be Black at home and abroad. She unlearns the lies that she was told about slavery and colonialism and explores how communities are resisting the weight of centuries of history.

Whether thinking through debt, medical racism, art, or reparations, Tending to Our Wounds offers a case study on how to navigate between the past and the present, the individual and collective--identifying the tendrils of history in the everyday, and outlining a path to repair.

Review Quotes

Praise for A History of the World in Six Plagues

"A searing attack on historical injustices."
--Kirkus Review

"Bonhomme's frank, timely critique of the Western medical field and our faltering health care system reveals how it is deeply entangled with colonialism and capitalism."
--BookPage

"Pandemics thrive on inequities and widen them, providing more kindling for future plagues ... if everyone read Edna Bonhomme's incredible, humane, insightful book--and I hope they do--we might stand a chance of actually breaking the cycle of neglect and panic."
--Ed Yong

"A breathtaking journey through the intertwined histories of contagions and systemic inequities that have shaped our history. Poignantly insightful and compelling, Bonhomme not only sheds light on past injustices but challenges us to confront our history and envision a more compassionate future."
--Uché Blackstock

"This meticulously researched book shows us the ways that contagious illness frustrates humankind's instinct for control, and how people have found ways to care for one another in the worst of circumstances. A powerful book that shines a light on the parts of life we'd rather ignore, and the beauty that can arise from horror."
--Sarah Jaffe

"Edna Bonhomme narrates centuries of the human-microbial dance, laying out how our destinies, liberties, and values are determined by how humans negotiate life on earth with our smallest living neighbors. Brilliant, tender and illuminating." --Steven W. Thrasher

"An expansive portraiture of how colonialism and confinement have influenced our understanding of illness and humanity. Thankfully, due to the author's talent and sheer strength in combining personal narrative with history, this book is also tender as it tackles some of the most stigmatized subjects of our time."
--Morgan Jerkins