"An important American writer...The Healing examines precisely what its title announces: healing from silence, from physical attacks and treachery, from spiritual and cultural isolation, from the pain of old-fashioned, aching, bluesy love...It is also a very funny book...A moving affirmation of forgiveness and trust...The Healing should be cause for hope, sustenance and even celebration"
New York Times

"Compelled by the southern speech and taut, sparring dialogue of the early fiction, [The Healing] has a witty, savvy, sometimes cynical edge...As Harlan trawls black culture, Jones slyly combines folksy, vernacular wisdom with discursive flights. Into this fluid pastiche she mixes pop culture - Oprah, Denzel, Tina Turner - with allusions to Chaucer, Henry James, Ralph Ellison, Ishmael Reed...the novel's richness lies in its entertaining meandering, and the vitality of its spoken rhythms"
Guardian

"Gayl Jones's work remains essential and vital; I will be rereading her catalogue for the rest of my life"
Nylon

"One of the most distinguished African American women of letters, Jones offers her first novel to be published in twenty years. It is gripping, beautiful and well worth the wait"
Ms. Magazine