Review By Sharon Galligar Chance Noted African-American author Connie Briscoe remembers as a child seeing two portraits of very light-complexioned women on her grandmother’s bureau and asking who the two white women were. She was told they were her great-great grandmother and great-great aunt. And they weren’t white ; both had been slaves up until the end of the Civil War. Being naturally curious, Briscoe set out to uncover the family history. From this research came A Long Way from Home. This emotional narrative is a multi-generational story of slavery, freedom, and the unbreakable bonds of family, as told through three unforgettable women. A Long Way from Home recounts the lives of Susie, her daughter Clara, and her granddaughter Susan. Born and raised as privileged house slaves on Montpelier, the Virginia plantation of President James Madison and his wife Dolley Madison, these women are united by love, a fierce devotion to each other, and, ultimately, a desire for freedom. For Susie, life holds no promise beyond the plantation. As a personal maid to Miss Dolley, she is content. Daughter Clara, however, longs to control her own destiny despite her mother’s words of caution: . . . You don’t know a thing about freedom, ’cause I don’t know anything about it. It takes money and know-how to live free. You don’t just up and do it. Life changes for both women with the death of James Madison and the departure of his wife for her town house. As a result of neglectful management, the plantation eventually falls to a series of owners, each posing a new threat to Susie and Clara and the other longtime Madison slaves. ÊAmid these devastating changes, Clara grows to womanhood and becomes a mother herself, giving birth to two light-skinned daughters, one of whom is Susan. She never reveals the identity of the girls’ white father, and raises them as slaves. Yet the threat of separation is forever lurking, becoming a terrible reality when the younger daughter, Susan, is sold to a wealthy businessman in Richmond. She must create a new life, and it’s in Civil War-torn Richmond that she finds love and the long-held dream of freedom. Briscoe vividly recreates her family’s history with dignity and honesty. This passionate tale pays homage to the African-American experience during the 1800s and to the ancestors, both black and white, whose lives and histories became forever entwined.
Sharon Galligar Chance is the senior book reviewer for the Times Record News in Wichita Falls, Texas.
