At age 11, Sarah Grimke is gifted a slave girl, named Hetty. At the time, this was a tradition. Sarah is angry about this tradition and doesn’t agree with slavery. But, as a child she is helpless to change this course. She dreams of leaving Charleston when a younger sister dream. She and this sister become abolitionist and then eventually suffragettes.
Hetty also dreams of being free, of growing wings, like the story her mother tells her. Hetty’s mother is clever and strong. She’s a seamstress who realizes she can make extra money by outsourcing her skills. She saves this money for the day she decides to leave but instead is kidnapped.
Will Hetty ever see her mother again? Is she dead or alive? And will Sarah find her independence and happiness? For historical fiction fans, Monk Kidd, tells the story of Sarah Grimke, Hetty, and their flight to independence.
To remain silent in the face of evil is itself a form of evil.”
-Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings
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