In the Land of Cotton by Martha A. Taylor

In the Land of Cotton is the coming-of-age story of a young, white girl living in the color-divided Deep South - set in the late fifties and sixties, Memphis, TN. Martha’s life changes when her parents hire a colored woman, Lucy, to be nanny to both Martha and her younger sister. See up until that time, Martha had never really seen a colored person up close and, as was common at the time, she believed that colored people were bad and hated all white people. But Lucy certainly changed all that. Martha and Lucy quickly form a bond, a friendship that eventually grows to feel like family. As their friendship grows and due to her inquisitive nature, Martha follows Lucy home one day and stumbles upon a whole new world. Lucy lives out by the river with her family and, although hesitant at first, Lucy allows her to stay and meet her family and explore their land. She also meets Lucy’s 15 year old nephew Silas - whom she becomes best friends with and eventually that friendship grows into something deeper and more meaningful, much to the dismay of everyone else.

As Martha’s story unfolds you are given an overview of the Civil Rights movement as she brings you through segregation, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Vietnam War to President Obama’s inauguration.

I can honestly say that I was carried away reading a more personal account about a time that I have only read about in text books. This was such a beautiful, heartwarming and eventually bittersweet story. It was a pleasure to read and I found it to be quite educational. It gives you not only a deeper look at history but it also reminds you how much we’ve changed and grown in the past half century. This was a can’t-put-me-down even-though-it’s-2am type of read that I truly enjoyed and highly recommend.