Skinny House: A Memoir of Family, by Julie L. Seely is, despite the title, a story about much more than just a house. It is about the fascinating people of the Seely family that lived within it. Their stories are brought to the reader by one of the family members, the house builder Nathan Seely’s granddaughter. Her experience and some research allow every reader to understand what goes on in the tiny house.

Seely writes in a captivating and detailed way, giving us insights into her family’s inspirational story and helping everyone understand what each family member has gone through during their difficult lives. As a reader keen on details, I appreciated the effort put into researching and describing the lives of the people the author barely met, like her grandfather Nathan and describing his life at the beginning of the 20^th century.

The book does a fantastic job of creating detailed portraits of the people in the family, and it really transports readers to that time and place in a fascinating way, but I felt like the book moved slowly because of all these details. If you are looking for a book that dives deep into the lives of interesting people, then Skinny House is a perfect fit for you.

Skinny House: A Memoir of Family tells an emotionally resonant story that I think every reader will be able to relate to in one way or another because of how realistic and authentic these people feel due to the wonderful writing of author Julie L. Seely. I recommend this book to any reader keen on African American entrepreneur success during a time when racism was everywhere, to readers keen on history and for anyone looking for a book on real life stories that are inspiring.

I would like to end this review with my favorite quote from the book: “Despite its title, this book is no simple story about an odd narrow-built dwelling. It’s about the family who lived in the house and the patriarch who built it”.

Pages: 211 | ASIN: ‎B07N8H4N4C