What Lies Beyond the Veil(Of Flesh & Bone #1)(82)
I am thankful for my family, and for everyone who has been family to me. My mom and sister plus me are the three musketeers, always sticking together through everything. And when I was growing up, there was nothing better than having cousins. No matter where we are in the world or in our relationship, I am always rooting for all of you. And to my darling nieces: Tia loves you!
At the heart of this story is loss, and while KB’s loss looks different than mine, we both know it all too well. Daddy, I miss your laugh. Hearing you sing. Watching you cook. A decade later and I still can’t find enough to fill the hole. Granddaddy Grady, I miss our summers with you in Lansing, catching fireflies and telling jokes. I hid pieces of both of you in KB’s heart. I haven’t felt so close to the two of you since you were here with me on earth, and I will forever be grateful to this book for that.
Being a “momma” to my three daughters has been one of my life’s greatest joys. Kailah, Makenzie, and Zuri, everything I do is to make you proud, to make you strong, and capable, and confident. It took me forever to realize that maybe, just maybe, I could live my dreams. I promise to do everything I can to help you three live your dreams even sooner, even fuller.
And finally, my husband, partner, and forever friend. Chris, you give my life meaning and joy. I hear that living with a writer isn’t easy, but you make it look effortless. You give me so much love and comfort and happiness. Thank you for giving me the kickstart I needed back in the day to become the person I am now. You da best.
My childhood had trauma, but it also had joy. In the end, I laughed more than I cried. Still, I used to wonder why I couldn’t just have an ordinary childhood, and it’s only now, after writing KB’s story that I’ve realized that my childhood was an ordinary childhood. Black girlhood is girlhood. Black stories are universal. Black lives are lives, and we matter. Telling our stories matters. I hope that by reading this book, someone feels seen. I hope someone else will open their eyes and begin to see. But if nothing else comes of this, I know that the little girl I used to be is so proud of the woman I am now. She might even catch an extra special firefly, just for me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KAI HARRIS is a writer and educator from Detroit, Michigan, who uses her voice to uplift the Black community through realistic fiction centered on the Black experience. Her work has appeared in Guernica, Kweli Journal, Longform, and the Killens Review of Arts & Letters, among others. In addition to fiction, Kai has published poetry, personal essays, and peer-reviewed academic articles on topics related to Black girlhood and womanhood, the slave narrative genre, motherhood, and Black identity. A graduate of Western Michigan University’s PhD program, Kai was the recipient of the university’s Gwen Frostic Creative Writing Fiction Award for her short story “While We Live.” Kai now lives in the Bay Area with her husband, three daughters, and dog, Tabasco, and is an assistant professor of creative writing at Santa Clara University.