Welcome to Litsy!

An intricate look at the Dozier Reform School for Boys that has over a century of tortured times for young boys, mostly African Americans, who were sent here for bad behavior. The author explains her time digging unmarked graves& finding family members so these souls can rest in peace that was not there. The story of these families, Marianna& the school history is interwoven with the scientific aspect revealing a harsh and heartfelt truth.

Trying to bring peace to families of the boys, the author and anthropologist names names. Peace was on the table but justice was not. There were many humans behaving badly and years of injustice. I enjoyed the information about the families and I am thankful at least some of them found closure.

The Dozier School for Boys was essentially a juvenile detention center in Florida‘s panhandle. It ran from 1900 to 2011. During that time many boys were buried on site on Boot Hill in unmarked graves. Many died of mysterious circumstances. Boys who were released from the school reported abuse and neglect, yet the school kept operating.

The author is a forensic anthropologist asked by families to find the truth and get their boys‘ remains home.

This focuses on many things: history, anthropology, sociology, true crime. All of which revealed something heartbreaking and angering.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

#Bookspin has spoken, and these are the two I‘ll be reading in addition to my bookclub and #authoramonth books for April. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks ! I‘m looking forward to both, even though they are both bound to be sad.😔📚🥰

An incredibly important subject, but I‘m not sure this is the best vehicle for educating others about it. Florida‘s Dozier School for Boys was a cruel place, and Kimmerle is a forensic anthropologist that assisted with exhuming graves and reuniting remains with families. While gutting and fascinating, the structure of this book often left me confused. Too bogged down with the bureaucracy of the work, the impact of this place gets lost. 3⭐️

Why does she do this to me?!! While an excellent book Nickel Boys was not the easiest read. Now she wants me to read a nonfiction book about it for book club?! 🤔😥 #cocktailsandcrimesbookclub

This is the factual account of the grave recovery at the Dozier School for Boys by the archeologist that oversaw the excavation team. Her relationship with the victim's families & the survivors of the Dozier School added a unique depth. I thought the technical aspect was interesting as well but she mentions a lot of names & I felt like a lot of the accolades could have been saved for the acknowledgement section. ⭐⭐⭐💫

Kimmerle is the forensic anthropologist who led the excavations of unmarked graves at Florida‘s reform school for boys. For more than a century boys entrusted to the state were abused, exploited for labor, and sometimes murdered by their would-be caregivers. This is a grisly read. And it has haunted me. If you want to know the depths that slave cultures will descend to to protect their own give this a read. It‘s a page-turner!

Forensic anthropologist Kimmerle worked with families of boys who died at the Dosier School for Boys in Florida to gain access to the property to try to find and return their remains to their families. This details her work toward this, including the numerous road blocks thrown up by the state. Heart-wrenching, but a terrific book. (This is the school that inspired Colson Whitehead‘s The Nickel Boys, I believe.)

Heavy subject matter, but it needs to be talked about more. This is the second book I've read about the Dozier School & I'm still mad about how these boys were treated.

The Dozier School for Boys was a horrific institution, located in Southern Florida, where boys were sent for all manner of reasons. From minor infractions or maybe just because they were disabled, many suffered at the hands of cruel staff and unjust practices which amounted to torture in many cases. In this book, Kimmerle documents her attempt to find some of the missing boys who died at the school under suspicious circumstances. Continued ⬇️

I think I‘m going to regret reading this at work, because I know it‘s going to break my heart. But I‘ve got what are probably going to be a quiet few hours as I cover Children‘s, so. I‘m just going to have Kleenex nearby and my iced coffee to soothe me. #wecarrytheirbones #erinkimmerle #thedozierschoolforboys #history

This was my third book about a heinous school that destroyed the lives of so many children for over a century- all three will make you rage at the injustice of it all. I'll tag them in the comments for stacking. This one is written by the lead forensic anthropologist to begin reuniting the boys to their families through DNA testing.

#NetGalley

Books like this need to be read, they need to be talked about, and we as humans need to do better. Places like the Dozier School for Boys should have never existed, and people shouldn't still be defending why they were "necessary." I'm thankful for those who fought to expose these terrible acts and bring some closure to the families of all the boys whose lives were taken from them.

This book is very informative and emotional.

I know many people here admired Colson Whitehead's book The Nickel Boys. I saw this book in some promotional piece this past weekend. It's the real story of the Dozier School that Colson Whitehead's book is based on. Told by the forensic anthropologist investigating the deaths and identifying the bodies. Pub day is supposed to be tomorrow. #NewBook #PubDay