The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Brinkley, Jamel. Witness. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023.

Jamel Brinkley's Witness is a collection of 10 short stories. Each of the short stories is written from a distinct point of view and employs a unique narrative style and form. For the sake of clarity, the following summary employs the present tense and a streamlined mode of explanation throughout.

In "Blessed Deliverance," five friends become acquainted with an unhoused man in their Brooklyn neighborhood. They nickname the man Headass and find amusement in belittling and berating him whenever they see him. Then one day, the friends discover that Headass is volunteering at a new animal rescue in their area. They are amazed watching Headass hold and feed the rescue rabbits. After the friends learn that the rescue dismissed Headass for sleeping at the establishment, they are furious. Meanwhile, their friend group begins to disband. Then one day, one of the friends sees Headass doing tricks with rabbits he freed from the rescue. Instead of ignoring Headass, he approaches him and introduces himself.

In "The Let-Out," the unnamed first person narrator shows up at a New York museum just around closing time. He and his friends have made a hobby of attending such let-outs, arriving at establishments just as all of their patrons are departing. They find it the ideal way to meet and pick up women. Going to the museum is the narrator's first solo let-out experience. Therefore, the narrator is delighted when an attractive older woman named Ramona approaches him. He thinks she has chosen him and is flattered. When he learns she is in fact his father's former lover, the narrator becomes both repulsed and intrigued.

In "Comfort," four years after Simone's brother Marcus is killed by a policeman named Officer Brody, Simone has yet to heal from her grief. She spends the majority of her time holed up in her apartment, drinking, barely eating, and sleeping even less. She has also shirked her yard work responsibilities, much to the chagrin of her landlady. What little comfort Simone feels she derives from her regular evenings with a lover she familiarly calls Bamboo.

In "Arrows," on the day before bringing his father to an assisted living facility, Hasan gets into an argument with his mother Helena's ghost. She died years prior, but her spirit has taken up residence in Hasan's childhood home. He knows his mother is upset with him, but cannot help feeling burdened by her presence, his father's condition, his responsibilities as a single father, and the sale of the now haunted home.

In "Sahar," Gloria starts writing letters to the woman who delivers her food, Sahar. She wants to thank Sahar for her consistent and friendly service. What her letters end up revealing is that Gloria is also desperate to be seen and valued for her work. After working for Q Hotel for nearly 40 years, Gloria has begun to feel increasingly undervalued and disposable.

In "Bystander," Anita is furious with her teenager daughter Dandy for writing a post online about assassinating the president. Although her husband Horace defends Anita, Anita feels alienated and annoyed. Her relationship with Dandy has become increasingly fraught throughout the recent past, and not even Horace can fix it. She feels particularly frustrated with Dandy's refusal to eat, perceiving it as an affront to her identity as a mother. After Dandy is diagnosed with a rare condition, however, Anita is forced to reconsider her perception of herself and her familial relationships.

In "The Happiest House on Union Street," Beverly lives in her family's townhouse with her father Raymond and uncle Rayford. The house has been in the family for generations and therefore connects the family to their ancestral history. For this reason, Raymond becomes furious with his brother for making deals with white real estate agents behind his back. Beverly wishes she could resolve these tensions, but is powerless as a young girl.

In "That Particular Sunday," after Aaron and his cousin Mary visit his childhood apartment on Adelphi Street, Aaron finds himself drifting into a prolonged bout of remembrance. He recalls how wonderful and happy his Sundays with Mary, his aunts, and his mother used to be. These times were simpler and purer until one Sunday, the aunts introduced Aaron and Mary to their other aunt, Claudia. The family went to visit her at the institution where she was staying. The experience altered Aaron's perception of his family and himself for years to come.

In "Bartow Station," years after the first person narrator's cousin Troy dies, the narrator remains incapable of healing from his loss. While dating a girl he meets at a flower stand, Zoelle, the narrator's unresolved distress becomes increasingly apparent. Finally the narrator tells Zoelle that he and his cousin were drunkenly playing on train tracks as teenagers when a train appeared as if out of nowhere and hit Troy. Instead of staying with him until he died, the narrator fled. Although he knows his grief has come to define him, the narrator admits he is not yet ready to let it go.

In "Witness," Silas's sister Bernice assures Silas he can stay on her couch until he finds a job and apartment in the city. Although grateful for Bernice's help, Silas often feels irritated with and annoyed by Bernice, as if her life and needs are actively detracting from his own. After Bernice dies unexpectedly after suffering a stroke, Silas is weighed by grief and shame. He knows that he repeatedly ignored Bernice's health complaints, and therefore failed to help her find the care she needed.