A Footnote in History: A Guest Post by Nathan Harris
Nathan Harris (The Sweetness of Water) returns with a searing story of survival, family and the fight for freedom in a broken world. Read on for an exclusive essay from Nathan on writing Amity.
Hardcover $29.00
Amity: A Novel
Amity: A Novel
In Stock Online
Hardcover $29.00
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness of Water comes a gripping story about a brother and sister, emancipated from slavery but still searching for true freedom, and their odyssey across the deserts of Mexico to escape a former master still intent on their bondage.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Sweetness of Water comes a gripping story about a brother and sister, emancipated from slavery but still searching for true freedom, and their odyssey across the deserts of Mexico to escape a former master still intent on their bondage.
I had been doing research for my first novel, The Sweetness of Water, when I discovered a small footnote in history I hadn’t encountered before: the journey taken by Confederate loyalists in the South who fled after the Civil War to start new lives in Mexico. Some brought along their former slaves, and it was these people who came alive in my imagination. What must it have been like to endure the horrors of bondage, survive the Civil War, and find yourself on the cusp of freedom—only to be forced to move away from the only place you know, to an entirely foreign country, where you will once be forced into servitude?
From that question, the characters of my new novel were born. June has been made to take that journey by Mr. Harper, patriarch of the family that once owned her. Her brother, Coleman, remains in New Orleans, waiting for news of what’s become of his sister. Two years pass before a stranger arrives with startling information: Mr. Harper is ready to receive them, and they will soon board a ship to Mexico. What Coleman cannot know is that this man has his own ambitions. Not only that, but Mr. Harper’s motives are far from pure as well. . .
Coleman, who secretly taught himself to read, has embraced freedom with a fierce desire to learn, tempered by a deep fear of venturing into the unknown. June craves nothing more than quiet and peace, but must summon courage and resilience to escape the Confederate colony that has trapped her in bondage once again.
In writing this novel, I discovered not only characters I like to think of as unforgettable, but also a trove of fascinating history, drawn from the rich and turbulent circumstances of Mexico during this era. Readers will meet Mexican soldiers fighting for their nation’s independence, Black Seminoles who traveled from Florida to seek their own freedom while fighting alongside the Mexican government, and much more.
It’s an epic story, steeped in history too often overlooked, and my hope is that anyone who picks up Amity leaves its pages as moved as I was while writing it.
