Listen free for 30 days

  • This Here Flesh

  • Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us
  • Written by: Cole Arthur Riley
  • Narrated by: Cole Arthur Riley
  • Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (15 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
This Here Flesh cover art

This Here Flesh

Written by: Cole Arthur Riley
Narrated by: Cole Arthur Riley
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $20.40

Buy Now for $20.40

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the “necessary rituals” that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.

“This is the kind of book that makes you different when you’re done.”—Ashley C. Ford,
New York Times bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter

“Reaches deep beneath the surface of words unspoken, wounds unhealed, and secrets untempered to break them open in order for fresh light to break through.”—Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing and Caul Baby

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Root, Library Journal

“From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to survive. I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy new each morning.”

So writes Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself. Writing memorably of her own childhood and coming to self, Arthur Riley boldly explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith: How can spirituality not silence the body, but instead allow it to come alive? How do we honor, lament, and heal from the stories we inherit? How can we find peace in a world overtaken with dislocation, noise, and unrest? In this indelible work of contemplative storytelling, Arthur Riley invites us to descend into our own stories, examine our capacity to rest, wonder, joy, rage, and repair, and find that our humanity is not an enemy to faith but evidence of it.

At once a compelling spiritual meditation, a powerful intergenerational account, and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh speaks potently to anyone who suspects that our stories might have something to say to us.

©2022 Cole Arthur Riley (P)2022 Random House Audio

What the critics say

"Arthur Riley’s quest to discover the ‘necessary rituals’ connecting us to a sense of belonging, dignity, liberation, and faith prompts her to plumb the stories of her grandmother and father to reveal an affirming spirituality rooted in kindness, love, and deep holiness.”Oprah Daily

“This book is an invitation into the delicate weavings of family, inheritance, and pain, how they mark a bloodline and connect a people. Cole Arthur Riley writes with grace and gravity. And somehow she teaches us to think of ourselves as deserving of such grace along the way. This is the kind of book that makes you different when you’re done.”—Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter

“Welcome the rising of Arthur Riley’s astonishing voice. This is a gorgeous and muscular work.”—Krista Tippett, host of On Being and New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Wise

More from the same

Author:

Narrator:

What listeners say about This Here Flesh

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I’ve never read anything like this before

I’m an African catholic woman who is also given to contemplative life and reads books and poems by mystics of different religions but none has moved me like the writing of this young black woman with a beautiful “catholic” mind.
I’ve never seen this kind of mastery of words used to express and explore deep territories without compromising its simplicity or beauty.
I read the physical copy, listened to the audiobook and then did both at the same time.
Her writing is very poetic and her quiet voice also conveys the delicateness and beauty of the ideas and experiences explored in the book. It’s expressed so simply that there’s no place for the listener to hide. I had to let my guard down, stop intellectualizing and just feel. I explored depths of my experience along with her.
I felt a deeper appreciation for myself and the human condition after reading it the first time.

It’s such a raw, honest and breathtaking book. It’s so beautiful and I’ll never forget it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Spectacular read

This is a must-read life-changing Book. Cole’s words truly take you away but also bring you right back.10/10 recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow, what a beautiful book

This is a beautiful, powerful book. I had to listen to some parts again, and I will listen to the whole book again (or get the physical book!!). It was stories & sermon & prophecy & history all wrapped up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!