Overview

Faith's Reckoning is a story of two Americas, intimately intertwined, yet worlds apart. A multigenerational novel set in the South, it traverses the period between the 1930's - 1940's and the late 1990's. Through parallel storylines it explores the complex personal relationships between Black and White families and includes three braids: The Wiggins family, who are part of the pain inflicted by the Jim Crow system, including a daughter who seeks, at the end of her life, to make amends. The Walker family, who respond to that system by helping shape the early Civil Rights movement, featuring the well-researched history of A. Philip Randolph and the Pullman Porters. And the third braid, which follows the descendants of those families who come together to reckon with the legacy left to them. It is the love of the Delta Blues that forges a bond between these descendants and allows them to envision an organization that addresses reparations. At its core, Faith's Reckoning is a story about reparations for racial injustice. But it is also about the individual restitution we must make in our personal lives. At the end of life, the greatest regret is the action not taken. When she was fourteen years old, Faith Wiggins was confronted with a dilemma, pitting family loyalty against a call for justice. She could keep her father's secret or speak up for her beloved Delsey, a sharecropper's daughter who worked for him. Feeling afraid, powerless, Faith chose silence. Now, sixty years later, Faith has made peace with the conflicted allegiances of her youth. But she has a last piece of unfinished business that must be tended. She calls her niece, Sylvia Barbarino, to come to Mississippi for a visit. Sylvia will do anything for her favorite aunt, including the sad task of serving as the executor of her Will. What Sylvia does not yet realize is that Faith is asking her to do more than administer her estate. Faith needs Sylvia's help as she attempts to make reparations for her father's actions. Sylvia must reckon justice for what happened to Delsey's husband, Plessy Walker. And she must face the seeds of racism within herself that shaped the most consequential decision of her life.

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Reviews

Soulful and evocative, Faith's Reckoning is told with a Southern voice that rings with authenticity and compassion for the characters who must survive in the Jim Crow landscape. Beautifully researched, this novel takes us on a momentous, transformative journey in its quest for justice and healing. Susan S. Scott, Author of Healing With Nature, Skyhorse Publishing Faith's Reckoning is a moral, educational, and thoroughly enjoyable novel. Deeply felt and engrossing, it moves deftly back and forth in time to build the story of hard lives in the Depression-era south, the generations that follow, and how one woman measures up to the difficult challenge of making reparations. An uplifting celebration of human goodness and possibility. Tad Crawford, author of A Floating Life and On Wine-Dark Seas, Arcade Publishing. A warm sense of humanity pervades Faith's Reckoning, a tender story of redemption infused with the author's love of her characters. Immersed in the culture of the South this multigenerational story is both a tale of the awakening of individual conscience and an introduction to the early Civil Rights movement. Joe Kulin, Former Publisher of Parabola Magazine Faith's Reckoning is a courageous gem of historical fiction exploring racism and social injustice in the Deep South, alive with vivid descriptions of trains and rails, sweltering summer nights, and the powerful presence of the Delta Blues. The characters set up house in one's heart, and linger in one's mind, long after their stories end. Lucinda Herring, Author of Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials, North Atlantic Books The daily shock of racial violence inures us to the horror. The novel form, when well written, allows the deeper story. Faith's Reckoning is such a novel. Barbara Small's deeply moving story makes a persuasive case for the much-needed healing medicine: the power of truth, the power of music, and most of all, the power of love. Russell A. Lockhart, PhD, author of Words As Eggs and Psyche Speaks, The Lockhart Press

"""Soulful and evocative, Faith's Reckoning is told with a Southern voice that rings with authenticity and compassion for the characters who must survive in the Jim Crow landscape. Beautifully researched, this novel takes us on a momentous, transformative journey in its quest for justice and healing."" Susan S. Scott, Author of Healing With Nature, Skyhorse Publishing ""Faith's Reckoning is a moral, educational, and thoroughly enjoyable novel. Deeply felt and engrossing, it moves deftly back and forth in time to build the story of hard lives in the Depression-era south, the generations that follow, and how one woman measures up to the difficult challenge of making reparations. An uplifting celebration of human goodness and possibility."" Tad Crawford, author of A Floating Life and On Wine-Dark Seas, Arcade Publishing. ""A warm sense of humanity pervades Faith's Reckoning, a tender story of redemption infused with the author's love of her characters. Immersed in the culture of the South this multigenerational story is both a tale of the awakening of individual conscience and an introduction to the early Civil Rights movement."" Joe Kulin, Former Publisher of Parabola Magazine ""Faith's Reckoning is a courageous gem of historical fiction exploring racism and social injustice in the Deep South, alive with vivid descriptions of trains and rails, sweltering summer nights, and the powerful presence of the Delta Blues. The characters set up house in one's heart, and linger in one's mind, long after their stories end."" Lucinda Herring, Author of Reimagining Death: Stories and Practical Wisdom for Home Funerals and Green Burials, North Atlantic Books ""The daily shock of racial violence inures us to the horror. The novel form, when well written, allows the deeper story. Faith's Reckoning is such a novel. Barbara Small's deeply moving story makes a persuasive case for the much-needed healing medicine: the power of truth, the power of music, and most of all, the power of love."" Russell A. Lockhart, PhD, author of Words As Eggs and Psyche Speaks, The Lockhart Press"

Author Information

I am a retired pediatric hematologist/oncologist. I have been published academically. This is my debut novel.

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