A sweeping narrative of the unique beauty and trials of Black matriarchy in America that weaves a sharp, tender examination of three single Black mothersthe author’s grandmother, mother, and the author herselfwith stories of influential Black women in our culture

“Bont tells the whole history of this country through the relationships of and between Black mothers and daughters.”Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of South to America

Bont dances on our hearts in this classic creation of will and wit. Electrifying… Wow.Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir

Betty Jean, the authors grandmother, had a house along a bayou in Texas, a home paid for and run without a man by her side. This home served as the center of Bonts familys universe, the one place that was a constant through all of lifes changes.

Mama Connie, one of Betty Jeans eleven children, vowed that her life would be different. And in many ways it was: she got married, lived in suburbia, and built a life resembling the American dream. But when it came to raising children of her own, she was more like Betty Jean than she cared to admit. But, like her mother before her, Connies sweat was the founding salt of her own universe.

Today, Sasha Bont navigates all aspects of being a motherescape, promise, burden, assent, and rebellionnot just for the women in her family who came before her, but for Black women with whom society is acquainted, too: figures like Nina Simone, Betty Davis, and Darnella Frazier, who filmed the murder of George Floyd.

Generations of Black women have borne children, borne the burdens of events untold, and borne witness to unspeakable trials. The Waterbearers carries this history, its fierce eloquence capturing a masterpiece of life written by an author who is intimately acquainted with how Black women have passed down knowledge and culture. Sasha Bont doesnt just present genealogical lineages but illuminates the cultural and societal connections of strong Black women who have built legacies and changed the world, sometimes in the most mundane of moments. The fierce eloquence of this story confirms Sasha Bont as a voice we all now need to hear.