Bone of the Bone
Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class
Table of Contents
About The Book
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.
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 9, 2025)
- Length: 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668061848
Raves and Reviews
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
“Bone of the Bone is a valuable book that addresses significant but neglected political problems… [Smarsh’s] writing is characterized by precise analysis and controlled fury.”
—Chicago Review of Books
“[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 -
Praise for Heartland
"A deeply humane memoir that crackles with clarifying insight... A powerful mantra."
—New York Times Book Review
"Heartland is [Smarsh's] map of home, drawn with loving hands and tender words."
—Washington Post
"Smart, nuanced and atmospheric."
—NPR Books
"An observant, affectionate portrait of working-class America that possesses the power to resonate with readers of all classes."
—San Francisco Chronicle
"A soul-baring meditation on poverty and class in America... a loving yet unflinching look at the marginalized people who grow America’s food, build its houses and airplanes but never seem to share fully in its prosperity."
—New York Post, Best of 2018
"This is a provocative, well-researched book for our times."
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Smarsh seamlessly interweaves [her family's] tales with her own experiences and the political happenings of the day to tell a story that feels complete, honest and often poetic."
—Texas Observer
"Heartland is an important book for this moment ... Smarsh emerges as a writer, most potently, in her vivid encounters with the ironies of working-class life — her reflections on what it means to live poor can turn startlingly poetic."
—EntertainmentWeekly.com
"Startlingly vivid ... an absorbing, important work in a country that needs to know more about itself."
—Christian Science Monitor
"Brave and heart-wrenching, this book gives a voice to a group of people too easy to ignore."
—Columbus Dispatch
Praise for She Come By It Natural
"Stirring, insightful... Smarsh anoints Parton a badly needed beacon: in a divided country, she remains that rare someone who everyone can love."
—Time
"Sarah Smarsh expertly explores the overlooked social contributions of women."
—CNN.com
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Bone of the Bone Trade Paperback 9781668061848
- Author Photo (jpg): Sarah Smarsh Photograph by Doug Stremel(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit
