Protagonist and Central Conflict: At 11 years old, Amanita Diallo is kidnapped from her village of Bayo, enslaved, and sold. Enduring barbaric acts, she also builds a family, makes a life in Nova Scotia, works with other abolitionists, and dreams of returning to Bayo.
Potential Sensitivity Issues: Slavery, rape, kidnapping, generational trauma, systemic oppression, trauma associated with the African Diaspora
Lawrence Hill, Author
Bio: Born 1957 in Canada; loved running; earned BA from Université Laval and MA at Johns Hopkins; taught college; worked as reporter; mentored in adult education programs; works as activist; volunteers in Niger, Cameroon, Mali; is on advisory council for Book Clubs for Inmates; writes novels, essays, memoirs; The Book of Negroes adapted into television miniseries; National Magazine Award for Is Africa’s Pain Black America’s Burden? (2006); Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012); Hamilton Literary Award for Blood: The Stuff of Life (2015)
Other Works: Some Great Thing (1992); Any Known Blood (1997); Blood: The Stuff of Life (2013); The Illegal (2015)