As a professional in the publishing business, I feel the Amazon.com reviewers who knocked this book were unfair. Sure, it was slow to get into the story, but worth reading because the author was carefully building a solid foundation for the conclusion. I'm left feeling desolate and saddened by the ending, yet it was fitting for the situation and characters and teaches important lessons to the reader. This book gives one insight into the South and slavery from both the the white and especially from the black point of view. Thank you, James McEachin, for coming up with this unique method of story-telling! Please write more!