Shades and Shadows is the first in a series of captivating post Civil War era novels, giving breath to a full-bodied, intimate cast of characters and enveloped in an endearing narrative that sustains the story and the reader as they move enthusiastically from one page to the next. As a young, first-born mixed-race child of a former slave, Sara Gilley is thrust into the unforgiving realities of newfound "freedom" in the Reconstruction South. Living in the cramped room behind the kitchen stove, working tirelessly while being expected to raise her younger siblings, without access to formal education and in the midst of a complex entanglement of familial relationships, Sara struggles to claim control of her and her siblings' futures. Faced with a series of personal tragedies, Sara has little to expect from the world. Through it all, however, she continues to hold out hope that dogged determination, a resolute spirit and well-laid plans will open doors to new worlds of opportunity... But life rarely happens as we plan it. Fortune sometimes deals us a better hand than we ever had reason to hope.
About the Author: Mimi Mitchell was born in the Appalachian Mountains of western Virginia. Jim Crow laws lingered in the South long after the Plessy v. Ferguson decision was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1954, so Mimi saw great changes during her youth. "I simply never saw the racial separation until I went to the movies in my late teen years, and recognized, for the first time, the separate drinking fountains and seating areas for 'negroes' and whites! I was confounded both by the segregation and by the fact that I had never been aware of it! I was possessed by a severe mental scotoma regarding race relations. All my life, I have feared that I may possess other psychological blind spots. Mimi and her husband live in rural Virginia after residing for years in large metropolitan areas. They have travelled the U.S. from Maine to Alaska and Hawaii, from Minnesota to Texas. They have travelled widely in Canada, Mexico, Europe, parts of South America and Australia. Mimi says, "It's a big world! I hope our money and health hold out. We want to see it all. My husband wishes he were young enough to volunteer for the first trip to Mars. I like planet Earth. I will enjoy other people's videos!" Should you believe that you have dead relatives in the cemetery mentioned in Shades and Shadows, you may contact the author: mimi-mitchell-author.blogspot.com. Scarce information is available on persons buried there largely due not to one fire, but to two. Official local records prior to 1933 went up in flames. There was a fire, devastating to genealogists, that destroyed most of the 1890 U.S. Census data. Although a small amount of 1890 U.S. Census data remains, none is applicable to this location. The 1860 U.S. Slave Census for the area is missing persons known to have held slaves or to have been slaves in the District at the time. The 1850 U.S. Slave Census data is intact, but slaves' names are not given. Nevertheless, the author will attempt to assist persons who are likely to be relatives of those once-loved dead.