Balm, Dolen PerkinsValdez
Balm, Dolen PerkinsValdez
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Balm
A Novel

Author: Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Narrator: Lisa Renee Pitts

Unabridged: 9 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 05/26/2015


Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling author of Wench returns to the Civil War era to explore the next chapter of history—the trauma of the War and the end of slavery—in this powerful story of love and healing about three people who struggle to overcome the pain of the past and define their own future.The Civil War has ended, and Madge, Sadie, and Hemp have each come to Chicago in search of a new life.Born with magical hands, Madge has the power to discern others’ suffering, but she cannot heal her own damaged heart. To mend herself and help those in need, she must return to Tennessee to face the women healers who rejected her as a child.Sadie can commune with the dead, but until she makes peace with her father, she, too, cannot fully engage her gift.Searching for his missing family, Hemp arrives in this northern city that shimmers with possibility. But redemption cannot be possible until he is reunited with those taken from him.In the bitter aftermath of a terrible, bloody war, as a divided nation tries to come together once again, Madge, Sadie, and Hemp will be caught up in a desperate, unexpected battle for survival in a community desperate to lay the pain of the past to rest.Beautiful in its historical atmosphere and emotional depth, Balm is a stirring novel of love, loss, hope, and reconciliation set during one of the most critical periods in American history.

About Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Wench. In 2011 she was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction. She was also awarded the First Novelist Award by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She lives in Washington, D.C. @Dolen / dolenperkinsvaldez.com


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roxane on August 14, 2015

Gorgeously written. Such growth between Wench and Balm. The overall story could have been fuller and more throughly realized. Interesting structure. Madge and Hemp were such compelling characters. And my god. On a sentence level the writing was perfect. Satisfying. Enviable. Bravo.......more

Goodreads review by Shomeret on June 08, 2015

I’ve read books dealing with slavery and the emancipation of the slaves after the American Civil War. I’ve read books dealing with traditional herbalists from a variety of cultures. I’ve also read books that deal with trance mediums who can contact the spirits of the dead. Yet I’ve never read a book......more

Goodreads review by Read In Colour on January 15, 2015

It's really closer to a 3.5, but Goodreads. I would have given it a four, but it lost its momentum in the last third of the book. Overall, a really good read though.......more

Goodreads review by Andre on July 21, 2015

The first thing that hits you is the___________ prose. Insert there any positive adjective concerning prose that we all have read hundreds of time. I honestly couldn't come up with one that hasn't been overused, thus the blank. So, she certainly has a way with words and takes a blasé story, makes it......more

Goodreads review by Claire on May 31, 2015

What a wonderful book!!! I was fortunate to win an Advanced Reader's copy from Goodreads. Even though this is a fiction book, the author thoroughly researched many facts in the story. The story takes us back to the end of the Civil War and three characters: Hemp, Sadie and Madge. I grew to really ca......more