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From the New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
Good Dirt
“This kaleidoscopic novel of love, loss, and triumph will sit with you for a long time….”
– Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Take My Hand & Happy Land
One of TIME magazine’s 100 must-read books of 2025
One of PEOPLE magazine’s 15 best books of 2025
A Library Reads Top Pick
A USA Today national bestseller
Featured in The New York Times, Marie Claire, BET, The Christian Science Monitor, Woman’s World, on NPR, PBS Books, in AARP, Prima Magazine, and others
When Ebby Freeman’s high-profile romance falls apart, the ensuing media attention dredges up memories of a family tragedy nearly 20 years earlier. It was an unthinkable event that thrust young Ebby into the public eye at the worst time.
To distance herself from her painful past and more recent troubles, Ebby leaves her Connecticut home and flees to a small town in France, only to find her past catches up with her.
As she looks back, Ebby is compelled to piece together the connection between a beloved family heirloom, a stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved artisan, and her current struggles.
(Previous novel: Black Cake)
About
Charmaine Wilkerson
is originally from New York and has lived in Jamaica and Italy. A graduate of Barnard College and Stanford University, she is a former news and communication professional whose award-winning short fiction has appeared in various anthologies and magazines. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Black Cake and Good Dirt. Charmaine is represented by Madeleine Milburn at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.
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