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list price: $18.95
edition:Paperback
also available: eBook
category: Children's Fiction
published: Sep 2011
ISBN:9781552664230
publisher: Fernwood Publishing
imprint: Roseway Publishing

Chasing Freedom

by Gloria Ann Wesley

tagged: prejudice & racism
Description

The American Revolutionary War is being waged, and the fate of slaves in the colonies is on the line. Sarah Redmond, a slave on a South Carolina plantation, watches with a heavy heart as her father steals away in the dead of the night to join the British army, enticed by promises of freedom, land and provisions for his whole family. But before her father can return, the war draws to a close and the Loyalist slaves are all freed — including Sarah and her grandmother, Lydia. Uncertain of their future, Sarah and Lydia join the thousands who are rounded up and sent to New York to prepare for their journey to a new home somewhere in the British colonies. After months of waiting, the Redmonds are assigned to a ship bound for the first all-black community in North America: Birchtown, Nova Scotia. With their Certificates of Freedom in hand, Lydia and Sarah wait anxiously, hoping beyond hope that their new life will bring acceptance and happiness. But once they reach Birchtown they find that their new home is barren, cold and isolated — and in a world slow to forget old fears and hate, their Certificates offer them freedom in name only. Chasing Freedom is the story of a young woman struggling to discover who she is and what she can become in a world that offers her few opportunities. Can Sarah and her family find the strength and determination to persevere against all odds?

About the Author

Gloria Ann Wesley

GLORIA ANN WESLEY is the author of three books of poetry and two historical novels: If This Is Freedom and Chasing Freedom, which was shortlisted for the 2012 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Young Adult Fiction. Gloria is also the author of Africville in the Righting Canada's Wrongs series (2019). She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Contributor Notes

Gloria Ann Wesley is an African Nova Scotian writer who published her first book of poetry, To My Someday Child in 1975. She later published Woman, Sing (2002) and Burlap and Lace (2007).

Wesley’s poetry appears in three Canadian anthologies: Canada in Us Now (Harold Head, 1976), Other Voices: Writings by Blacks in Canada (Lorris Elliott, 1985) and Fire on the Water (George Elliott Clarke, 1992). Gloria Wesley holds the distinction of being the first published Black Nova Scotian poet (by Resolution of the Nova Scotia Legislature, 5 April 2007).

Editorial Review

Shortlisted for the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children's Literature

“This novel of a revolutionary era, of Yanks and Africans “chasing freedom,” is arresting, with startling events, intriguing characters, and vivid language. Reading Wesley, you hear that sweet, special Africadian lingo, “right to the marrow in the bones.” By the end, you under- stand why folks’d “rather be ruled by the king than a bunch of rebels with nothing to offer but gab and blood.” But you can’t gain freedom without experiencing “a rough tussle and a good shake.” Grab hold of this tale: It won’t let you go.“ -— George Elliott Clarke, Governor-General’s Award for Poetry 2001 & E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature, University of Toronto

“Just to let you know, your wonderful book Chasing Freedom has now passed both Level 1 and Level 2 reviews, and I am in the process of listing it as an Authorized Learning Resource, and will be purchasing copies for English Language Arts 9 and English 12: African Heritage (for lower ability readers), and for junior and senior high libraries.” — Thomas A. Henderson, Curriculum Consultant, African Canadian Services Division, Nova Scotia Department of Education

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