Product Description

When novelist Bertice Berry set out to write a history of her family, she initially believed she’d uncover a story of slavery and black pain, but the deeper she dug, the more surprises she found. There was heartache, yes, but also something unexpected: hope. Peeling away the layers, Berry came to learn that the history of slavery cannot be quantified in simple, black-and-white terms of “good” and “evil” but is rather a complex tapestry of roles and relations, of choices and individual responsibility.

In this poignant, reflective memoir, Berry skillfully relays the evolution of relations between the races, from slavery to Reconstruction, from the struggles of the Civil Rights movement and the Black Power 1970s, and on to the present day. In doing so, she sheds light on a picture of the past that not only liberates but also unites and evokes the need to forgive and be forgiven.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #426330 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-03
• Released on: 2009-02-03
• Format: Deckle Edge
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780767924146
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
In Berry's first novel, Redemption Song, a contemporary love story unfolds as a pair of young strangers share reading the only extant copy of a slave narrative, the work of a woman who experienced deep love for a fellow slave and savage treatment from her owner. When I named the evil slave owner, Berry explains in this memoir, referring to her novel, I gave him the name of the man who owned the [Delaware] plantation that my family had lived on. Berry's mother had told her that Granddaddy said John Hunn was a good man, but Berry met such reports with utter disbelief. Her memoir is an act of contrition toward the man whose name I tried to tarnish as well as a journey of self-discovery and self-education as she uncovers the historical Hunn—indeed, a good man.... a Quaker who risked life and limb in the fight for abolition and the southernmost conductor of the Underground Railroad. Berry weaves abolitionist history with autobiography (her single mother's struggle to raise a family of seven children; her own finding a way out of poverty through education). Berry's competently researched book, with its sprinklings of history, folklore and scripture along with a motivational thrust (We are all born with a purpose, a journey that must be completed), provide an accessible, readable introduction for others saddened... that none of this history had been made part of my education. (Jan.)
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From Booklist
Berry explores her personal journey of broader racial understanding since she wrote the novel Redemption Song in 2000. Despite her mother’s stories to the contrary, Berry insisted on portraying an evil slave master based on a real man, John Hunn, who owned the farm where her great-grandfather worked. When she learned that Hunn had actually helped runaway slaves, Berry was forced to reexamine many of her ideas on race, acknowledging a race pride that had evolved into arrogance and an arrogance that had evolved into exclusion. Berry ponders the long journey from slavery to emancipation and the notion of freedom as something that is mental and emotional as well as physical. Interspersing her family’s history with that of the broader African American population, Berry writes of getting past the bitterness of poverty and racism to appreciate the complexities of American slavery and the need to present more nuanced and balanced portraits of race relations. --Vanessa Bush

Review
PRAISE FOR WHEN LOVE CALLS YOU BETTER ANSWER

“An inspirational tale.” —Ebony

“A folksy, feel-good little novel … sentimentally delightful.” —Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR THE HAUNTING OF HIP HOP
“A nimble social commentator, Berry wisely eschews clichés and delivers a powerful story with a message that should not be lost.” —Essence

“In this poignant and educational ‘ghost’ story, Berry drives home the importance of making sure the richness of ancient Africa’s drums lives in the music today.” —Heart & Soul

PRAISE FOR REDEMPTION SONG
“A simple love story to drive home the importance of understanding one’s history … entertaining but also enlightening.” —USA Today

“Compelling … thought-provoking … Filled with life lessons wrapped in mother wit and family lore.” —Dallas Morning News

“Comedian and inspirational speaker Berry makes a tear-tugging fiction debut with this slim romantic fable about connections across generations.” —Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews

Righting a Wrong and Finding Oneself
In her latest novel, The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption, she writes "When we remember our ancestors and their stories, we light a pathway for our own journey to spiritual, emotional, and intellectual freedom." I think this novel is a cathartic journey for Berry as she attempts to reconcile the maligning of a man's character and name and encourage readers to heal through forgiveness and encouragement.

She opens with references to an earlier work, Redemption Song, in which a minor character, John Hunn, was a mean and hateful slave owner. The name was usurped from childhood stories told by her mother in which John Hunn owned the land that her great-grandfather worked in Delaware. Although her mother described Hunn as "good white folk," for years Berry imagined John Hunn as a stereotypical, tyrant; a powerful landowner holding her great-grandfather (a free man) in a serf-life, forever-in-debt sharecropping situation. It is not until years later, on her mother's deathbed that Berry experiences a type of epiphany which led to the publication of the novel. Through her mother's oral and written histories and her social and genealogical research, she validates that John Hunn was indeed the best kind of folk: an abolitionist, a conductor on Underground Railroad, a Quaker minister who repeatedly risked his life, and eventually lost his family's fortune helping the enslaved escape to freedom. This novel unequivocally reverses the misrepresented (negative) image of John Hunn as depicted in Redemption Song.

She parallels her quest for Hunn with a reexamination of her mother's life and ancestors and a recollection of candid and sometimes painful memories from her own childhood. True to Berry fashion, the book is filled with African proverbs, familial anecdotes (ala "Mama used to say..."), and wonderful historical tidbits regarding the life of Hunn, her family, and Delaware's roots in the Union, and its roles, policies, and laws during the slavery era. She substantiates her finds in a fairly detailed Notes section which provides great references -- allowing the reader to dive deeper into respective areas of interest. Not lost on the reader is the strong child advocacy sentiments which encourage readers to teach, reach, encourage, and support all children, particularly special needs or troubled children.

This book is recommended reading for fans of Berry, history buffs (with a penchant for Delaware), and/or those who would like to reaffirm their thoughts on forgiveness and seek evidence in the power of perseverance and determination.

Reviewed by Phyllis
February 11, 2009
APOOO BookClub

a good read
I usually read heavier non-fiction but I picked up this memoir at the library on a whim and it's been an enjoyable read. She gives great glimpses into the life of a poor black girl who picked herself up. I love her faith in God, her love and forgiveness, and her inspiration when you read about all the times she was stomped on by life. Also delves into some interesting stories from American slavery.

My favorite observation in the book: "When I hear people talk negatively about women who have had children by more than one man, I know that they don't understand that for many of these women, the men who fathered their children were the only men they had planned to be with. In their hearts and minds, each one was to be the last."

VERY BINDING INDEED
Ms Berry writes an excellent story. I enjoyed this book very much, though I am always amazed at abused children' ability to some what gloss over their parents abuse. Reading Ms Berry's words are like feeding your literary brain cells