Overview

We first meet Susan Cushman's characters, John and Mary Margaret, in her short story collection, Friends of the Library. In her second novel and seventh book, Cushman fleshes out their stories, covering over fifty years of their lives in Mississippi and Memphis against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and continuing through current-day events. John and Mary Margaret is an insider's look into the White-privilege bubble of a young girl growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, and participating in sorority life on the Ole Miss campus in the late 1960s. But it's also a candid portrayal of a young Black boy from Memphis who follows his dream to study law at the predominately White university. What happens when their shared love for literature blossoms into an ill-fated romance? Set squarely in the center of decades of historical events in Mississippi and Memphis, here their story brings those events to life.

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9781646633906

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Reviews

What if at least some of our life decisions do come with second chances? Susan Cushman answers this question through the late-in-life romance of John and Mary Margaret, and a rediscovered love never realized in their youth. Filled with the sights, sounds, and flavors of Mississippi, Cushman's story opens a heartfelt and authentic window not only into two lives, but into the South then and now. -Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times Bestselling author Frederick Douglass may have been right when he wrote 'the white and colored people of this country [can] be blended into a common nationality, and enjoy together . . . the inestimable blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' Susan Cushman's John and Mary Margaret is written in the spirit of Douglass's vision. Set against the backdrop of the University of Mississippi in the mid-1960s, this clear-eyed book confronts the historical and social realities of those times and the once perilous nature of interracial intimacy. -Ralph Eubanks, author of Ever Is a Long Time and A Place Like Mississippi Susan Cushman has captured the heart and soul of the Old and New South with her powerful literary saga. Spanning five decades of two star-crossed lovers' courageous and perilous journeys in Mississippi and Memphis, John and Mary Margaret conveys the power of love to overcome historic racial injustice. I can't stop thinking about it! -Lisa Patton, bestselling author of Rush and Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter Susan Cushman's John and Mary Margaret is an elegantly written and beautifully understated love story. Two young people from adjacent, yet distant worlds, fall in love only to find the cultural space in which they discover each other is not comfortable with or accepting of their relationship. But decades later, Cushman gives that love a second chance, and we are truly lucky to bear witness to her notion that true love might be delayed but it will never be fully denied. -Jeffrey Blount, author of The Emancipation of Evan Walls With great sensitivity, author Susan Cushman balances themes of duty with racial upheaval in the changing times of the Deep South. Thought-provoking, engaging, and ultimately hopeful, John and Mary Margaret is an insightful, heart-warming story of the perils of love in historically pivotal times. -Claire Fullerton, multi-award-winning author of four novels and one novella With sweetness and grace, Susan Cushman brings John and Mary Margaret's story to life. Sometimes true love can be complicated, especially in the south during the 1960s. But John and Mary Margaret have a story to tell, and Adele Covington-from Cushman's debut short story collection, Friends of the Library-knows it's going to be a good one. She's right, of course, and this is a love story in more ways than one. Susan does a beautiful job weaving everyone's story together for an ending that makes you want to jump for joy. -Mandy Haynes, author of Walking the Wrong Way Home This sensitive and well-written work of historical fiction explores the deleterious impact of racism on our basic human relationship. Luckily, sometimes we get a second chance. -Eileen Harrison Sanchez, author Freedom Lessons

"""What if at least some of our life decisions do come with second chances? Susan Cushman answers this question through the late-in-life romance of John and Mary Margaret, and a rediscovered love never realized in their youth. Filled with the sights, sounds, and flavors of Mississippi, Cushman's story opens a heartfelt and authentic window not only into two lives, but into the South then and now."" -Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times Bestselling author ""Frederick Douglass may have been right when he wrote 'the white and colored people of this country [can] be blended into a common nationality, and enjoy together . . . the inestimable blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' Susan Cushman's John and Mary Margaret is written in the spirit of Douglass's vision. Set against the backdrop of the University of Mississippi in the mid-1960s, this clear-eyed book confronts the historical and social realities of those times and the once perilous nature of interracial intimacy."" -Ralph Eubanks, author of Ever Is a Long Time and A Place Like Mississippi ""Susan Cushman has captured the heart and soul of the Old and New South with her powerful literary saga. Spanning five decades of two star-crossed lovers' courageous and perilous journeys in Mississippi and Memphis, John and Mary Margaret conveys the power of love to overcome historic racial injustice. I can't stop thinking about it!"" -Lisa Patton, bestselling author of Rush and Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter ""Susan Cushman's John and Mary Margaret is an elegantly written and beautifully understated love story. Two young people from adjacent, yet distant worlds, fall in love only to find the cultural space in which they discover each other is not comfortable with or accepting of their relationship. But decades later, Cushman gives that love a second chance, and we are truly lucky to bear witness to her notion that true love might be delayed but it will never be fully denied."" -Jeffrey Blount, author of The Emancipation of Evan Walls ""With great sensitivity, author Susan Cushman balances themes of duty with racial upheaval in the changing times of the Deep South. Thought-provoking, engaging, and ultimately hopeful, John and Mary Margaret is an insightful, heart-warming story of the perils of love in historically pivotal times."" -Claire Fullerton, multi-award-winning author of four novels and one novella ""With sweetness and grace, Susan Cushman brings John and Mary Margaret's story to life. Sometimes true love can be complicated, especially in the south during the 1960s. But John and Mary Margaret have a story to tell, and Adele Covington-from Cushman's debut short story collection, Friends of the Library-knows it's going to be a good one. She's right, of course, and this is a love story in more ways than one. Susan does a beautiful job weaving everyone's story together for an ending that makes you want to jump for joy."" -Mandy Haynes, author of Walking the Wrong Way Home ""This sensitive and well-written work of historical fiction explores the deleterious impact of racism on our basic human relationship. Luckily, sometimes we get a second chance."" -Eileen Harrison Sanchez, author Freedom Lessons"

Author Information

Susan Cushman sets her second novel and seventh book in her home state of Mississippi and her current city, Memphis, where she has lived since 1988. She reads and writes in many genres, as is reflected in her published works: Friends of the Library (short stories, also from Koehler Books), Cherry Bomb (a novel), Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer's (a memoir), and three anthologies, A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be, Southern Writers on Writing, and The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate 20 Years! A frequent director and speaker at numerous writing conferences, workshops, and literary festivals, Susan's latest adventure involves leading a monthly creative writing group with twenty residents of a senior living facility.

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