A cultural critic, an intellectual, and a feminist writer, bell hooks is best known for classic books including Ain't I a Woman, Bone Black, All About Love, Rock My Soul, Belonging, We Real Cool, Where We Stand, Teaching to Transgress, Teaching Community, Outlaw Culture, and Reel to Real. hooks is Distinguished Professor in Residence in Appalachian Studies at Berea College, and resides in her home state of Kentucky.

"Sisters of the Yam, with its mixture of personal narrative, cultural critique, brief literary analyses, and plain, old-fashioned, kitchen table common-sense advice, might very well reach beyond the university to the diverse groups of people that have been hooks's 'intended' audience throughout much of her speaking and writing." --Sandra Adell, African American Review (1995)

"In Sisters of the Yam, hooks articulates black women's healing as an expression of 'liberatory political practice.' This statement transformed my consciousness as a health activist. By simply caring for myself, I can be a revolutionary. . ." --Sariane Leigh, The Feminist Wire (2012)