Click here for our
|
The Bed She Was Born In Parkway Publishers At a time when men marched off to war and their deeds were recorded in history books, unsung heroines went about their daily lives without the slightest idea they were affecting social and political change. The Bed She Was Born In is the stirring account of five such women—three black and two white—whose intimate relationships unravel past assumptions about segregation, even as they weave the intricate tapestry that is the American South. It is March of 1865, and Adaire Sanderson prepares to defend her home, Sand Hill Farm, against Union forces at Bentonville, North Carolina. With the help of her lifelong and formerly enslaved companion Ludie Sanders, Adaire disguises herself in her dead husband’s uniform to search for her young son . . . a journey that takes her into the hellish center of the last major battle of the Civil War. It is April of 1885, and Ludie Sander’s 23-year-old daughter, Millie, crosses a creek and comes face-to-face with the bore of a long-barreled pistol. Even though her brutal attacker is discovered, Millie’s life is forever changed . . . and the consequences damage the relationship between the black family and the white at Sand Hill Farm. It is June of 1905, and Anna McLean, a talented musician and painter, moves to Sand Hill Farm. Anna, Adaire, Ludie, and Millie form an alliance that carries them through the twisted revelations of an elopement that ends in tragedy . . . a forbidden liaison that binds both the families in silence for the next forty years. It is November of 1917, and Anna McLean Sanderson defies her husband and organizes a woman’s suffrage group in her home in Baker, North Carolina. Later, she and Millie turn their attention to several black children who are orphaned when their mother dies of a self-induced abortion. Ironically, Anna learns the details of how her beloved sister-in-law has attempted the same. It is July of 1932, and Maddie Gaston emerges from the filth of a cattle car where she has secretly traveled for three days. Hunger forces her to search the town of Baker, North Carolina, for “the sign”—a cross carved on a doorpost that will let her know someone cares. She discovers the sign at Anna Sanderson’s house, where she is fed and offered a job . . . and her fate is tied, thereafter, to that of Anna and Millie. The Bed She Was Born In unfolds in riveting scenes of courage, compassion, and strength. Chance brings these women together, but a spiritual covenant of love and trust enables them to overcome betrayal, violence, and the debilitating effects of racism and sexism in a turbulent era of American history.
Reviews “Jeri Fitzgerald Board has written a sweeping, important book which illuminates the lives of Southern women, black and white, as they struggle with the harsh realities of sex, race, class, and history. Yet this novel brims with life and love on every page. The Bed She Was Born In is a remarkable achievement—and a great read!” “Over the last quarter century, a new writing genre known as ‘historical consciousness’ has emerged, and southern women have seized the baton in this arena. In The Bed She Was Born In, Jeri Fitzgerald Board gives us a tale of courage and endurance, but with a wry sense of humor, and a writing style so stripped of the superfluous that she moves action along as fast as Hemingway—and then clobbers you with a completely unexpected turn of events. This novel could be a companion piece to W.H. Auden’s Any Girl, but it could also be the story of your wife, mother, sister, lover. It is not to be missed.” “The Bed She Was Born In by Jeri Fitzgerald Board is an entertainingly original and superbly crafted novel of five different women who unknowingly provided the future generations of women with the tools for political and social changes which were to revolutionize American life. There is Adaire Sanderson in the terrifying years of the American Civil War, as well as the lives of Anna, Ludie, and Millie in early 1900s, on through to the adoption of Maddie Gatson. The Bed She Was Born In carries to its readers the fascinating personal stories of five examples of empowered, empathetic individuals from 1865 progressively through to 1932. For its remarkable insights, The Bed She Was Born In is very strongly recommended for readers with an interest in feminist literature—and a welcome addition to any community library American fiction collections.”
Links Visit Jeri Board’s Web site at http://www.thebedshewasbornin.com/.
|
