Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An engrossing, powerful read, to which I was riveted until its triumphant ending, this novel tells the stories of three individuals in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

Sam, a former runaway slave, now an educated successful man who is passionate about freedom, leaves his home & respectable position of employment in Philadelphia, on a desperate journey of 1,000 miles to find his wife whom he has not seen for 15 years.

Tilda, his wife, still considered as “property” by her brutal master who would kill her as he has his other slaves, has no concept of the word”freedom,” and cannot fathom where she would go or what she would do without her master.

Prudence, a wealthy white woman from Boston determined to start a school “for coloreds,” has newly arrived in Mississippi and faces obstacles never considered and an unrevealed past personal history that will shake her world

The realistic lives of these three are intertwined, along with lesser characters’ stories. Heartfelt, poignant, at times horrifying, the book clearly illustrates the inhumanity of antebellum slavery culture, along with an illustration of the most uplifting and praiseworthy nature of humans. Great character development, realistic, believable, some of the characters based on actual individuals and events. It is a book that will affect me for a long time.
Audio version. A masterful job done by Sean Crisden, the narrator.

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