SWEETGRASS
Author: Mary Alice Monroe ISBN: 0778321878 7/2005 FICTION Publisher: MIRA
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Sweetgrass is a historical tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass—named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area—is in trouble. Taxes are skyrocketing. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together.
For Mary June Blakely, the prospect of leaving is bittersweet. Her life at Sweetgrass has been filled with both joy and heartache. She's raised her children here, but watched as tragedy drove them away. And though she knows leaving would finally mend her heart, moving her ill husband from the land he loves would break his. So she finds the strength to stay and fight—for her children, her marriage and her home.
For Nona Bennett, the prospect of Sweetgrass being sold is unimaginable. Her family has woven the grass into baskets since the days of slavery, and her stake in the land has endured for generations. Nona's roots are as embedded in the Blakely family as her beloved sweetgrass is in the earth. She has seen firsthand the pain that they have suffered, and she alone understands that they can heal only once they decide what it really means to be a family.
In this poignant novel of hope, acceptance and the powerful gift of forgiveness, Mary Alice Monroe paints an intimate portrait of a family that must learn to unravel old patterns and weave together a new future. |
 RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:
Mary Alice Monroe is an inspirational and gifted storyteller. She has amazingly displayed her talents with the tale of SWEETGRASS.
SWEETGRASS is the story of a family that has been ripped apart by secrets, betrayal, death and now the imminent loss of their land. However, to state that over-simplifies the complexity of this novel. SWEETGRASS is so much more than a feuding family. Like the sweetgrass baskets she describes in her novel, Monroe is an artisan building layer after layer of depth.
SWEETGRASS personifies how we struggle to define ourselves and our place in our family. The familial relationships are dynamic and authentic. Monroe leads the reader through an emotional rollercoaster where every emotion is experienced and you are left feeling more like a friend of the family than an observer.
Monroe’s descriptions of the South Carolina Lowcountry are magnificent. Every sense is intoxicated with beautiful images of a land that has been undeveloped for hundreds of years. If you are not a conservationist, this book will have you donating half of your salary to The Nature Conservancy.
Mary Alice Monroe will make laugh, cry and feel emotions that people pay a shrink a hundred dollars an hour to feel.
Kendra Wheeler |
