Mark my words, this will be an author to watch! I have a feeling Quilt of Souls is going to have great sales. On Amazon, this book has nothing but five stars. In the future, I will have a review to post but while you wait for that, here is some information about the book.
Blurb:
Like many Black Americans of the mid-twentieth century, Phyllis Lawson’s parents moved from their hometown of Livingston, Alabama to the big city in search of a better life. It wasn't long before hardships left them unable to provide.
Soon, four-year-old Phyllis is plucked off her front porch, ripped away from the only family she knows, and sent to live with her grandmother Lula on an Alabama farm with no electricity, plumbing, or running water.
Heartbroken by her mother’s abandonment, Phyllis struggles to acclimate to her new surroundings. Thanks to the unconditional love of Grandma Lula and the healing powers of an old, tattered quilt, she is finally able to adjust to her new life.
In Quilt of Souls, Lawson documents her childhood growing up with the incredible woman who raised her and the powerful family heirloom that served as the cloth that would forever stitch their lives together.
Excerpt:
She held up the faded white cloth and told me it was from Ella's wedding dress. Ella, the woman whom I longed to know and whose portrait graced the hallway. I would finally learn about who she was.
“This here is the first cloth we are puttin’ in your quilt”.
This was the beginning of a history lesson that would stick with me for the rest of my life. The folktales of my ancestors and Grandma’s friends who were born in the late 1800’s would be the layers of used clothes that laid the foundation for my quilt. Each piece portrayed the story of that person’s life and death. It wouldn't be only their garments that we would embed in my quilt, but their stories and what they were able to achieve regardless of the insurmountable obstacles they faced.
About the author:
Phyllis Lawson is based in Florida. After going to college and serving in the military for twenty years, she reaches out through her website, publications and lectures to encourage people to understand that their old family stories and handed-down objects are valuable historical artifacts which need to be preserved. She also works as a genealogy researcher.
She is married with two adult sons and five granddaughters.
Places to follow and contact Phyllis:
And if you live in Baltimore, Maryland, you're in luck because she will be at the Baltimore Book Festival on September 26, 2015. The time will be 11:00am.
Here is the information on the Book Festival.
Baltimore Book Festival, Ste. 500 7 E. Redwood St., Baltimore, MD, 21203
and click here for the Baltimore Book Festival website.