![]() ![]() As Lisbeth grows up, she struggles to reconcile her love for her caregiver with her parent's expectations, a task made all the more difficult as she becomes increasingly aware of the ugly realities of the American slavery system. Yet Lisbeth has freedoms and opportunities that Mattie does not have, though the color of the girl’s skin cannot protect her from the societal expectations placed on women born to privilege. Growing up under the watchful eye of Mattie, the child adopts her surrogate mother’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring. Born to white plantation owners but raised by her enslaved black wet nurse, Mattie, Lisbeth’s childhood unfolds on the line between two very different worlds. ![]() ![]() So begins Lisbeth Wainwright’s compelling tale of coming-of-age in antebellum Virginia. So along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her some day. Although my family "owned" her, although she occupied the center of my universe, her deepest affections lay elsewhere. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts. ![]()
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