Letters from My Sister

At the turn of the 20th century, the Bullock family cotton farm is thriving, even as the devastating effects of slavery and oppression still ripple through rural Alabama. Through an unlikely friendship with Tirzah, a nonagenarian Black midwife, Callie begins to realize that even though the Bullocks treat their servants well, no one ever asks them about their deepest hopes. When Tirzah’s Yankee granddaughter runs into trouble with a lecherous neighbor, Callie and her sister Emmy must decide how to take a stand. But after Callie wakes up under a tree, missing a shoe and her memories, she is sent to a remote health facility to piece together her life. As Callie spends time far from Emmy, who is enduring trials of her own, letters between the sisters reveal an unbreakable, if complicated family bond. Luesse (Under the Bayou Moon) portrays the strength and complexity of family relationships under the pressure of tragic events.