Bøker av J T Dossett

THE STOMPING GROUNDS OF JIM CROW, CIRCA 1930''SYael Hollander''s people have agonized from persecution for thousands of years. And now, with the onset of WWII, her European relations are about to experience the greatest calamity of their long and tragic history: genocide of unimaginable proportions. Yael, a young, promising artist, lives with her immediate family on the Lower East Side of New York City. The time is during the Great Depression, but her family is familiar with hard times and manages to make ends meet. Yael takes advantage of President Roosevelt''s "New Deal" and the Works Projects Administration''s Art Program, designed to provide economic relief to artists and return a sense of pride to all who have suffered from the hardships of the Great Depression. Artists of every medium are assigned to decorate public buildings, schools, post offices with murals, paintings, and sculptures throughout the countryside. Yael''s project is to paint a mural on the wall of the courthouse in West Yazoo County, Mississippi, a place that is as alien to her way of life as the country of Lithuania, from which her parents fled. She quickly discerns that the deep Jim Crow south is virulent with hate, fueled by ignorance, abject poverty and the loss of the Civil War. Multiple forms of xenophobia reign supreme amongst the populace. As a Jew, she suffers their wrath, along with her newfound friends; black folks who suffer worse than their forebears did under slavery; a Choctaw Indian whose ancestors settled in the delta over two thousand years ago and were stripped of their land, their culture, and dignity by trickery and cunning that led to their death march on the Trail of Tears; a dirt-poor white girl who is punished for having mercy on an orphaned black baby. Their story is chronicled by Yael and witnessed by a centuries-old entity that harbors Secrets of the Black Tupelo.

During the embryonic years of this nation, Indigo Island was cultivated with plantations and populated with slaves brought from West Africa to work them. Needless to say, life was hard for the slaves, but because of the remoteness of the sea island, they were allowed to keep much of their West African culture alive, and devise an exclusive way of communicating; a patois of their own, called "Gullah Gee Chee". Fast-forward to the 1960s. Progeny of the Gullah-Gee Chee people live on the island, alongside a minority of whites; Rayma Rust, abused by her low-life, and mostly absent husband, raises children, Jasmine and Jerome, and the trio survives on the meager earnings from her restaurant. Doctor Beeler Custis, mourning the recent loss of his wife, Mary, lives on the island with his son, Wyman. Jasmine, Jerome, and Wyman become fast friends, and friends with their black neighbors, naturally immersing themselves in the Gullah-Gee Chee culture, and speaking the patois fluently. The boys form a band with the Greathouse brothers, sons of Mavis, a "Root Doctor", worshiper of Jesus Christ, a conjurer, and keeper of ancient traditions. The band, The Indigo Gullah Brothers, becomes quite popular, entertaining audiences with old -time blues, soul, and beach music. And when they aren't playing music, they are students of nature, studying the endless lessons proffered by life in the low-country. Enjoy this rare glimpse into the children of the marsh, who overcome the pain, and revel in the pleasures of their unique existence, with a dramatic flair which will keep you reading to the very end.

Bowman Rafferty was forgiven for what he considered to be a heinous act; the killing of Armandus. However, he never forgave himself for the misdeed, accepting the tragedies in his life as payback for his offense in the bitter cold and foggy forests of the Ardennes. Later, his precious wife and son gave him solace; offering balm for the festering wound in his heart. But they would leave him. He wandered alone in this world, searching for relief from his misery, and his journey led him to the Belgian Congo, where he was befriended, and loved by Catrin. Her love was unrequited though; Bowman was in search of redemption, and to be reunited with the love of his life. And Catrin would follow his example, remembering the words: "Tu es pardonne."

The Dog is Trailing You But Someone Has Your Back. Harry Cunningham was often heard to say that "Trouble followed him everywhere; like a starving dog, eager to lap up his misery." The metaphor was accurate; the slavering mutt shadowed him in many forms; death and betrayal, the most prominent. Despite Harry's abysmal luck, and suffering, he survives uncommon tragedies through many phases of his life in: Georgia; the Jungles of Colombia; on the Arabian Peninsula; Texas; Mexico; on the windswept prairies of Illinois. He searches for peace with the help of many: his adopted Hispanic family, and his beautiful Latina lover; a woman of German heritage possessing the joie de vivre that permeates everyone she touches; a cantankerous Jewish lawyer who experiences a sudden leap of intuitive understanding at her touch and her voice; a wily and benevolent entrepreneur who, despite his curmudgeon persona, possesses a heart of gold. They are all angels unaware, including Harry. However those most aware of their duties as guardians are beings of light, intermediaries between heaven and earth. Unbeknownst to Harry, these supernatural beings employ unorthodox tactics in an effort to protect him and guide him towards the higher life-form that he deserves.

Finding Bobby Ray is the story of a youngster who is abandoned by his mother, who is en route to assist his father in escaping from a notorious prison. He is discovered on the steps of a church by a miner, Dwane Benny Baird, who takes him home to his wife, Margaret. Childless, the couple immediately fall in love with the boy, and call him their own. They name him "Harley", and fearful that someone will return to claim him, they move to Cumberland Mountain to live with her father, a cantankerous, but lovable character, with a heart as big as himself. Eventually, Margaret conceives two children, Early, and Sissy. Like their mother, and grandfather, who are of Melungeon descent, the children are dark skinned and haired, in deep contrast to Harley, who is blonde and blue-eyed, which causes the neighbors and other family members to question his origins. Harley questions his beginnings too. As Harley continues his life in the arms of a loving family, his biological father and mother continue their sad relationship, walking perilously on the seamy side of life, committing crimes, breaking out of prisons and jails. In his pubescent years, Harley is told about being discovered on the steps of the church. Despite the fact that his family pledges their love and support of him, he becomes sullen, depressed and dangerously combative. He is given an opportunity to fight when he is drafted into the Army, during the Vietnam War. For the first time in his life, he becomes acquainted with the world outside of his mountain microcosm. He realizes how lucky he is, and misses his mountain home desperately. When he returns to "the world", he basks in the warmth of his family, who help him recuperate from the horrors of war. He also meets a woman who will teach him the subtle shades of the deepest love. His biological parent's scandalous lives lead them to the depths of chaos and depravity. His mother makes a decision to try and find her son, hoping that rediscovering