by Gayl Jones
First published 2000
Ursa lives with the terrible legacy of Corregidora, the slavemaster who sexually abused and impregnated both her grandmother and her mother in the 19th century. The women in her family have passed down their stories of violence and exploitation, creating an obligation for Ursa to remember and preserve this history for future generations. She feels the burden of keeping these memories alive, ensuring that Corregidora's cruelty will never be forgotten or repeated. But when Ursa becomes sterile after a brutal confrontation with her husband, she loses her ability to have children who could carry forward the family's testimony. This devastating loss forces her to confront how trauma moves through generations and what it means when the chain of memory might be broken. Ursa must find new ways to honor her ancestors while grappling with her own pain and the weight of inherited suffering.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: generational-trauma, inherited-suffering
Setting: 19th Century
Period: 19th Century
192 pages · Paperback · Serpents Tail
Content warnings: abuse, sexual-assault, slavery