This book was exceptional. It was more than a story, more than statistics, more than folklore and family recipes. This book was all of it, interwoven to paint the reader a picture of a time and an event that she successfully argues defined the 20th Century.

I was honestly not prepared. History, as it is taught here in TN, is like Swiss cheese or a dried sponge- there are holes begging to be filled. This book does that. In school and society, Jim Crow laws are something we think of in a detached way. Like separate fountains, schools, etc. We aren't subjected to what life would have been like to those who had to live in the Jim Crow South. We aren't taught that black people could be lynched for almost anything, the way the white people degraded and cheated black people long after slavery ended. This book fills in those holes. Wilkerson does an exceptional job of putting the reader in the place, seeing the world around them, and understanding the choices they had to make.

She's not forgiving on the places they escaped to either and she delves into the racism that defines America. She does this through three people who migrated- Ida Mae, George, and Robert. All of different education levels and societal rankings in the South, all left and lived in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, respectively. She follows their struggles in the South and the North. She ties it in with news clippings and other people's accounts at the time so the reader can see what they were dealing with. History is alive in this book.

This book showed me pieces of the history that I missed or wasn't taught. This book is a course. You learn so much. You learn how badly white people have screwed over black people, not only financially, but also emotionally. You question "what would have happened if..." in so many parts. This book is truly eye opening.

The book is a little dry, but the audio version comes alive and kept me on point. I can see how if you only read it, it might be a struggle. I HIGHLY recommend listening to this book.