Crossing Over Jordan — Linda Beatrice Brown

"A DEEPLY AFFECTING NOVEL about the hidden legacy of slavery--from the waning of the Civil War to the early twenty-first century."
--Essence
Georgia McCloud lives to see emancipation. Her daughter Sadie discovers that, though she might be free, she is powerless to break with a man who abuses her. But at the center of their communal pain is Sadie's intelligent, beautiful, ambitious daughter Story, who wants more from life than she's been led to expect. Her uncompromising desire for safety corrupts Story to her very soul, dooming her to wander an emotional desert, repressed, rigid, enslaved to propriety. Her daughter Hermine must then challenge the lie that life is hardship. But can Hermine finally break the cycle of oppression that has chained the women of her family? Can she alone cross over Jordan?

Reminiscent of the early work of Alice Walker and Gloria Naylor, Crossing Over Jordan deftly explores the themes of the mother-daughter relationship, the emotional scars left by history, the struggle to be authentic in the throes of great personal pain, and the transforming power of love.
"Written with passion, force, and compelling clarity, Crossing Over Jordan is a priceless novel that immerses us--even baptizes us--in the deep waters of our humanity. . . . A must-read that deserves a prominent place among books written by African-American women."
--Gloria Wade-Gayles
Author of Pushed Back to Strength: A Black Woman's Journey
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"ENTERTAINING AND ENLIGHTENING."
--Library Journal