Urgent, propulsive, and strikingly insightful, Homebodies is a thrilling debut novel about a young Black writer whose world is turned upside down when she loses her coveted job in media and pens a searing manifesto about racism in the industry.
Mickey Hayward dreams of writing stories that matter. She has a flashy media job that makes her feel successful and a devoted girlfriend who takes care of her when she comes home exhausted and demoralized. It´s not all A-list parties and steamy romance, but Mickey´s on her way, and it´s far from the messy life she left behind in Maryland. Despite being overlooked and mistreated at work, it seems like she might finally get the chance to prove herself--until she finds out she´s being replaced.
Distraught and enraged, Mickey fires back with a detailed letter outlining the racism and sexism she´s endured as a Black woman in media, certain it will change the world for the better. But when her letter is met with overwhelming silence, Mickey is sent into a tailspin of self-doubt. Forced to reckon with just how fragile her life is--including the uncertainty of her relationship--she flees to the last place she ever dreamed she would run to, her hometown, desperate for a break from her troubles.
Back home, Mickey is seduced by the simplicity of her old life--and the flirtation of a former flame--but her life in New York refuses to be forgotten. When a media scandal catapults Mickey´s forgotten letter into the public zeitgeist, suddenly everyone wants to hear what Mickey has to say. It´s what she´s always wanted--isn´t it?
Intimate, witty, and deeply sexy, Homebodies is a testament to those trying to be heard and loved in a world that refuses to make space, and introduces a standout new writer.