The Healing

Granada Plantation in Mississippi, 1860 - A slave owner's wife tasks an elderly slave and healer, Polly Shine, with training young Granada to become her successor. Granada initially resists this role and her connection to Polly's healing traditions. The story moves between Granada's experiences as a child apprentice during slavery and her life decades later as an elderly midwife in the early 1900s. Through Granada's journey, the narrative explores African healing practices, mentor relationships, and the preservation of cultural knowledge. The complex dynamics between enslaved people, slave owners, and plantation doctors reveal the brutal realities of the antebellum South. The focus remains on how healing practices and oral traditions created lifelines of hope and resistance within enslaved communities. Beyond its historical elements, The Healing examines themes of identity, belonging, and the power of passed-down wisdom. The novel illustrates how ancestral knowledge and healing arts enabled survival and self-determination during one of America's darkest periods.

Readers describe The Healing as a compelling story about slavery, healing traditions, and female relationships in the antebellum South. The novel has a 4.1/5 rating on Goodreads from 6,800+ readers and 4.5/5 on Amazon from 700+ reviews. Readers appreciated: - Rich historical details about folk medicine and healing practices - Strong character development, especially Gran Gran and Polly Shine - The parallel storytelling between past and present - Authentic portrayal of plantation life and slave experiences Common criticisms: - Slow pacing in the first third of the book - Modern-day framing device feels unnecessary to some readers - Some found the ending rushed - A few readers noted historical inaccuracies Multiple reviewers compared it favorably to The Help, though some felt it was less "sanitized." Reader Sarah K. noted: "Unlike The Help, this book doesn't shy away from the brutal realities while still maintaining hope." Several readers mentioned crying during key scenes.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom A white indentured servant works alongside Black enslaved people on a Virginia plantation, weaving together their stories of survival, family bonds, and healing across racial boundaries.

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James A Jamaican slave woman learns the art of healing while becoming entangled in a plantation rebellion that explores themes of power, resistance, and ancestral knowledge.

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Four enslaved women who serve as mistresses to their masters meet at a resort in Ohio, sharing their experiences of trauma and resilience through their connections to each other.

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber A Black woman homesteader in the South Dakota Badlands uses traditional healing practices while building a life in the early 1900s American frontier.

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim A wet nurse forms a deep bond with her charge in antebellum Virginia while maintaining her own family's healing traditions and cultural practices.

🌿 Jonathan Odell drew from his Mississippi childhood and interviewed former slaves' descendants to authentically portray plantation life and African healing traditions. 🌿 The character of Polly Shine was inspired by real enslaved healers who used their knowledge of herbs and roots to treat both slaves and plantation owners. 🌿 Many of the medicinal plants mentioned in the book, such as boneset and yarrow, were actually used in 19th-century Southern folk medicine and continue to have recognized therapeutic properties today. 🌿 The author spent over four years researching African American midwife traditions and interviewed elderly midwives in Mississippi to develop Granada's character arc. 🌿 The book's portrayal of slave hierarchies within plantations—particularly the status of house slaves versus field slaves—is based on documented historical accounts from the Federal Writers' Project slave narratives.