Actually 3.5. Any book about The Dozier School for Boys is a must read. This is a terrible history that should not be forgotten. This book was well written and (obviously) well researched, but does get a bit scientifically technical. I would have preferred a larger focus on the the stories of the boys and their families, but I understand the importance of the legal fights and scientific work as well.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59028580

Leave it to Florida to once again give us something to talk about. Unfortunately, this story is not funny in the least.

We Carry Their Bones by Erin Kimmerle is an important book with some riveting information. The book tells the story of the Dozier School in Florida where numerous children were sent to be tortured and killed some mostly minor offenses. Kimmerle and her team are ultimately called upon to investigate the unmarked graves at the school to bring closure to numerous families over the 100 years the school was open.

The good parts are very good. I liked hearing about Kimmerle's own experience before this episode in her life which gives a lot of context around who she is. I absolutely loved the science and the process of excavating the school. It showed an extreme measure of care and illuminates the parts shows TV shows cut out. The stories of the boys and what happened to them are heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, there are a few missteps in the narrative which I feel really hamper the book's flow. It certainly seems Kimmerle intended to settle some scores. Specifically, a blogger is mentioned multiple times as a hindrance in her work. While he certainly seems like a pain and devoid of empathy, he also seems mostly tangential. The book doesn't explain how much of a problem he really ended up being. If he was so easily swept aside, then it would have been prudent to just ignore him entirely. There are also strange asides which seem out of nowhere. There is a crack a relative makes about Catholics which makes it into the book without a clear link. There is also a section in the end of the book with a rant on mansplaining. Kimmerle and her team did righteous work in the face of some strong opposition. These examples seem beneath her.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the book for the most part and am happy people like Kimmerle and her team exist to bring the closure these families needed.

(This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and William Morrow Books. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 6/14/2022.)

Note to future readers: This is a painful true story and make sure to remember that fact as you are reading this book.

Erin Kimmerle was brought to the site of the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys to investigate how many bodies were buried on the 1400-acre land and help to identify them. As she and a small team of students and volunteers work to uncover the secrets of this reform school, several people on the outside work to stop them. Throughout her time on this case, Erin is faced with "lost" records and a surprisingly unaware community. She must wade through politics and several attempts to shut down the investigation for reasons that don't make sense to anyone. Through all of these struggles, Erin is finally able to dig up some truths behind the secrets and help families find justice for the boys.

I had to remind myself that this was true and the things that Erin wrote about actually happened. I found myself engrossed in this story and wanted to know more about what happened to the boys. I ended up Googling some more information when I was finished and was sickened by what I read. Erin does a good job of telling the story from how she found out about the investigation, to how she was roped in, and how it ended. However, I felt as though the whole book was jumpy. Some parts seemed like they should have been in other chapters or should have been talked about in other sections with other information. There were times when I had to backtrack to figure out if I missed something or skipped a page because what I was reading seemed to be random. I feel that if the story was better organized, then this book would have gotten 5 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fascinating read. It was so horrifying that I forgot it was non-fiction at times. (I believe this school was the inspiration for Colson Whitehead's "The Nickel Boys." The writer was involved in identifying the unmarked graves of 30-50 boys who died at the infamous Dozier School for Boys. I would recommend this to anyone studying criminal justice reform.

This was an outstanding book. Anyone who is interested in seeing justice be done should read this book. It's written by an expert who was there to do the work.

I had recollections of media coverage about the Dozier School, but I did not know the full extent of the horror and coverup of the numerous deaths (mostly of young Black inmates) throughout the years at the Dozier School for Boys.

Kimmerle's memoir of the investigation and the history of Dozier is harrowing reading at times, but always a dignified and moving account of the injustices, excuses, and lies that the survivors and families of the deceased children faced over the years.

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow Books for providing me with this ARC. We Carry Their Bones is about Erin Kimmerle and her forensic anthropologist investigation of what happened to the boys in Dozier Boys School. This book is semi biographical as it tells the author’s journey as she was asked to verify 31 graves at an old reform school cemetery. What she discovered was 55 graves of children from the ages 5 and up. These boys were threatened horribly and considered to be delinquents by many. They were also wrongfully imprisoned, used for slave labor, abused and ultimately murdered. It is also the author’s mission to bring some type of closure to the families of these boys. This country is still dealing with racism, corruption and hatred. Can these wounds and problems ever be cured? I sure hope and pray that they can be. I admire Kimmerle’s preservation and dedication in bringing this story to light. Her book was the perfect mixture of true crime and recollections. It’s a must read for anyone that wants our country to have a stronger sense of social justice.

An unflinching look at the ways that boys were thrown away at Dozier school, and what it took to get justice for some of them.

Facing America’s segregationist past, and racist present isn’t a task that many white people seem up to. Forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerlee’s demand for justice, for repatriation of the remains left at the school is a clarion voice, shining light into the dark corners of Florida.

This account talks about the troubled history of the school and county, racism, corruption, the ways that people try to find closure, and what it takes to see restorative justice take hold. Even then, it’s clear that justice is a harder thing to achieve, and that bad actors will continue to try and hide misdeeds so that the veneer of white civility can remain intact.

A must-read for fans of the true crime genre, for aspiring white allies seeking to help restorative justice, or anyone who believes that it is better to try and do better for those we have failed, than it is to hide the truth with obfuscation.

I was very excited to read this as I had read another book about the horrible injustices committed at this place. This book was different as it focuses on the authors dedication and constant struggles to unearth the unmarked graves and help bring answers and healing for the victims and their families. She does touch on some of the dreadful things that took place, but it's her perseverance and devotion that is this stories spotlight. A very good read! Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

We Carry Their Bones is a semi-biographical exploration of the Arthur G. Dozier School in Florida and the decades long search for justice for the 111 years of boys, living and dead, who spend their days their. With a torrid history of whippings, sexual abuse and misconduct by employees, the school has been a controversial topic between abuse survivors and the local community.

Dr. Erin Kimmerle entered the controversy in 2012, when drawn in by families and colleagues calling to investigate discrepancies in burial records and the location of the cemeteries at the site. Facing pushback from the community and unhelpful law enforcement, We Carry Their Bones documents the history of the school, the community and her own investigation into the extra burials gone unaccounted for, for decades.

I found this book both horrifying and wonderful. Exploring the entire community and the history of the school added another layer to the book by establishing the context of Dr. Kimmerle’s story. That said, the way this history is presented felt unfocused and I wish it had been laid out better. Her empathy and compassion bleed into her story and captured the true horror of her work.

This is such an important story to be told and Dr. Kimmerle was a wonderful voice to tell it.

Overall: ☆☆☆☆☆ (4.6)
Cover:☆☆☆☆☆
Synopsis: ☆☆☆☆☆
Entertainment:☆☆☆☆☆
Voice/writing style:☆☆☆☆
Ending:☆☆☆☆

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC copy of this novel, in return for an honest review.

I literally devoured this book! And that's even with the moments I had to stop, in order to come to terms with and remind myself that what I'm reading actually happened and then process the heaviness and totality of it.

The Bones We Carry was written by Erin Kimmerle, the anthropologist who spearheaded the exhumation of what was once believed to be a total of 31 boys; but later is determined to be several more buried on the property of a boys reformatory.

Erin relays the details of all the red tape she and her team had to cross, in order to bring justice to the family's of their lost brothers and uncles. Brothers and uncles who at very young ages suffered unimaginable horrors and abuse. Abuse that consisted of being confined to shackles on a wall if you were in isolation, lashes that left lasting scars,  and other unspeakable abuse.

As Erin tells us about how she dug to unearth the possible buried bodies of boys from the reformatory, she also digs into the atrocities the juvenile justice system enacted on poor, black, and or disabled boys. And as she does, she unearths the schools history, reports of abuse, suspicious deaths, and the lengths the school and community went to defend, and then later, cover-up.

Kimmerle did a wonderful job of mixing the right amount of true crime with dashes of memoir, to help remind us, this was her experience, study, and research. However, sometimes Erin may of lost her timeline and voice amongst the amount of fact components she did include. While that did make only a couple of places harder to comprehend,  the overall totality of the book was well written and gripping! I couldn't put it down, and hours later, it's the only thing I can think about.