Publisher's Synopsis
FREE To Be Me is a multi-faceted international novel that begins in Britain and ends in America, spanning two centuries.
The central location of this novel is a centuries-old, wealth-producing plantation in the state of Georgia.
Malcolm Hawthorn's working-class rags to riches story ends with his death, leaving behind the once-thriving estate.
Across the Atlantic, the son of a once-wealthy aristocratic British family, now an impoverished, struggling artist; inherits the property sight unseen. He has an escalating debt but the new fortune of sharing the same last name of the previous owner.
Joey plans to paint the 'never before seen' landscapes and send them back home to display in galleries throughout Britain to raise money for the much-needed and abundant repairs; and avoid debtor's prison.
As the new owner, Joey engages the remaining slaves to repair the house and rework the land. Is this a blessing or a curse for the once-wealthy aristocrat? His own success is followed by the achievements, grief, and losses of many of the enslaved people on the plantation and others connected to them.
Mabel, raised by her strict religious father, ends up pregnant and is disowned. Her gifted daughter Maize grows up to be a self-taught pianist and catches the ear of a Juilliard instructor Monsieur Oliver who arranges a scholarship. Before she can make a decision, young Maize is abused by man who owns her mother. Music is the only thing that helps soothe her mind. Fearing another attack, her midnight escape to the bus terminal with the help of a new friend is the beginning of a new life.
Billy, the working-class son of an indentured servant finds solace in his music but his talent isn't enough for him to break into the big time. As the seventh and unwanted son of a large family on the estate, he flees to the big city and joins a band where he meets a young woman who catches his eye. But his self-loathing and bitterness over his father's disdain for him threaten to break their relationship.
Life changes significantly for each of them but troubles often follow when you escape.FREE To Be Me follows the love, loss, and journeys taken for want for a better life of multiple people spanning two continents over two hundred years. Combining three books in one which begins in the United Kingdom then follows a young man's journey to America. The central theme of this novel is a century's old, wealth-producing plantation and those who come to live there or flee from it.
Stories told as if passed down through generations, through families and friends, connecting one generation to the last, outliving loss and death.A rags to riches story which reveals that love and harmony don't always come guaranteed with an unexpected inheritance.A stunning collection of realistic stories, beautifully intertwined and crossing generations, spanning countries and continents but always with the heart calling for more than the characters begin with.Beautiful realistic in showing the struggles and harsh realities of characters who have been dealt a hard life.Music plays throughout this book in a way that seems to note many of these stories together just as well as the connections between the characters.ABOUT THE AUTHOR: At 83 years young at the time of publication, Mary - who has always been a trailblazer, having been one of two women who started the very first domestic violence shelter in California, back in the late seventies - now has truly proven that AGE IS NOTHING BUT A NUMBER!
Her first novel Pushing Forty depicts the lives of women of color in the UK.
Her incredible, deep, soulful writing has been compared authors such the renowned Dr. Maya Angelou. Joyce King, Ph.D, Board President at Georgia State University after reading the first five pages described it in just two words . . . "Toni Morrison!"
