title: Island of Bones: Essays (American Lives)
author:  Joy Castro 
description: Memoir and argument come together in these essays, and the mix is angry, wry, sad, and always so honest, smashing stereotypes from all sides. The biography is dramatic. Adopted at birth by a Jehovahs Witness family, abused by her stepfather, the scholarly kid was the only Latina in her West Virginia high school. Growing up in trailer park, barrio, and rural towns, she came to college hungry: literally for food, but also for books. She doesnt fit, doesnt know the rules, and thats okay. Now she teaches English and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska. Writing, she says, is mysterious. Urgent. Magical. Free. There is some repetition, but with great quotes from Sandra Cisneros, Virginia Woolf, Frida Kahlo, Toni Morrison, and more, Castro follows in their tradition with her own sharp commentary, and readers will quote her eagerly. Jumping class comes at a price, and the price is not belonging. There is no slick relativism here; she addresses feminist issues directly and honors work, political commitment, community, and creativity. --Hazel Rochman
zlib_text: ## SKELETON  
  
  
  CREW
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Other books by Beverly Connor in the  
  
  
  Lindsay Chamberlain Series:
  
  A Rumor of Bones
  
  Questionable Remains
  
  Dressed to Die
  
  
  
  
  
  # SKELETON  
  
  
  CREW
  
  ![](img/img0001.jpg)
  
  ### A LINDSAY CHAMBERLAIN NOVEL
  
  BEVERLY fU9\OR
  
  ![](img/img0002.jpg)
  
  ![](img/page0007_0000.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](img/page0008_0000.svg)
  
  ![](img/page0008_0001.svg)
  
  ![](img/page0008_0002.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  # Acknowledgments
  
  Thanks to Diane Trap, Judy and Takis Iakovou, Marie and
  
  
  Richard Davis, Julia Cochran, and Nancy Vandergrift for their
  
  
  criticism and advice.
  
  A special thanks to my husband Charles Connor whose
  
  
  encouragement and support never waver.
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Author's Note
  
  The barrier island of St. Magdalena is a fictitious composite of
  characteristics from several of Georgia's barrier islands.
  
  ![](img/img0003.jpg)
  
  
  ![](img/img0004.jpg)
  
  ![](img/img0005.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  ## SKELETON  
  
  
  CREW
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter 1
  
  ##### . 4 Passenger's 'Diary: Part I
  
  From a vovage on the Spanish (alleon
  
  
  Estrella de 'Es