Cane River

I finished Cane River by Lalita Tademy last night. What an AWESOME read. Tademy takes mountains of genealogical information about her family and transforms it into a great novel. From census, plantation, court and other legal documents that were found about the women in her family (concentrating on Elisabeth, Suzette, Philomene and Emily) she weaves a tale of what she believes these former slaves went through living in French-speaking Louisina. She included photos of the women she is telling the story of and some of the documents that told the story of their lives. There are bill of sales for slaves, wills in which people were bought and sold, old newspaper stories, etc. This backs up what she writes and makes it so real.
These women had nothing, not even the dignity of a last name, and found ways to survive and not have their spirits broken.
Anyone interested in genealogy this is a great read. And anyone who is interested in a compelling story of women who overcame more than any of us living today in America could understand it is also a great read.