Thursday, March 25, 2021

3.25.2021 - Sunflower Sisters

Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this amazing book - the last of three books concerning ancestors of Caroline Ferriday.  This book takes us back to the Civil War and introduces us to the Woolsey Family.

This story is told in three voices - Anne-May, a plantation owner; Georgy Woolsey, a Union nurse; and Jemma, a slave on Anne-May's plantation.  I was completely enthralled with the writing and the story of the intersection of these three women's lives.  You will learn so much while being immersed in this time period - how nurses were trained and treated, medical treatments, battle stories, spies, fighting for what you believe.  The strength and endurance of slaves is always completely humbling and the audacity of the plantation owners is so appalling.  

Impeccably researched and based on so much factual information from the Ferriday/Woolsey archives, this is a book not to be missed.  The Woolsey family's perseverance in bettering people's lives through their nursing and war efforts - no matter which side an injured person was on - was so inspiring.  Even though it is over 500 pages, it reads almost like a suspense novel and you won't be able to look away.  Beautifully written, this is arguably the best of the three books by Martha Hall Kelly.

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