THIS HERE FLESH

TARGET CONSUMER:
The 86,000 people (as of 3/29/21) who follow the author's quickly growing
Instagram page (@BlackLiturgies) and share her writing across the platform
Justice-minded millennials, especially those interested in faith rooted in
contemplation and mysticism
Readers of Barbara Brown Taylor, Richard Rohr, and Anne Lamott

In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories
from three generations of her family alongside contemplative
reflections to discover the "necessary rituals" that connect us with our
belonging, dignity, and liberation.
“From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to
survive. I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so
desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy
new each morning.”
So writes Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections
on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages,
Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they
revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what
they believed but in the act of living itself. Writing memorably of her own
childhood and coming to self, Arthur Riley boldly explores some of the most
urgent questions of life and faith: How can spirituality not silence the body, but
instead allow it to come alive? How do we honor, lament, and heal from the
stories we inherit? How can we find peace in a world overtaken with dislocation,
noise, and unrest? In this indelible work of contemplative storytelling, Arthur
Riley invites us to descend into our own stories, examine our capacity to rest,
wonder, joy, rage, and repair, and find that our humanity is not an enemy to
faith but evidence of it.
At once a compelling spiritual meditation, a powerful intergenerational account,
and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh speaks potently to
anyone who suspects that our stories might have something to say to us.
AUTHOR PLATFORM: Riley is the creator of the quickly growing Instagram account
Black Liturgies, where she shares spiritual thoughts and prayers online. She is followed
by Rachel Cargle, Yvonne Orji, and Morgan Harper Nichols, among other notable
influencers interested in spirituality.
MASSIVE ENGAGEMENT AND PLATFORM GROWTH: Cole Arthur Riley's platform
grew from zero to 129,000 followers on Instagram since late June 2020, when she first
began her @BlackLiturgies Instagram page. @BlackLiturgies countinues to grow as
Riley's words resonate with people of faith and beyond.
A NEW CONTEMPLATIVE VOICE: The contemplative faith tradition, of which Riley is a
part, has been mostly reserved for white authors and teachers. Riley has become
convinced, however, that contemplation is inherent to Blackness, and that, if presented
rightly, BIPOC will find the contemplative tradition incredibly compelling. To become
student to a form of contemplation that isn't divorced from the body or particularity of
story is something the church most desperately needs.
Author Bio: Cole Arthur Riley is the creator of Black Liturgies, a space for
Black spiritual words of liberation, lament, rage, and rest; and a project of The
Center for Dignity and Contemplation where she serves as Executive Curator.
Born and for the most part raised in Pittsburgh, Cole studied Writing at the
University of Pittsburgh. She once took a professor's advice very seriously to
begin writing a little every day, and has followed it for nearly a decade.