The Lost Quilter

Author: Jennifer Chiaverini
Rating: 4 Bookworms

This is the new to me author I spoke of earlier. I enjoy her writing style which usually focuses on one character at a time then she ties it all up in the last few pages but this book moves away from that style. She generally builds her stories around a quilt or a quilting group. This book tells the story of a Freedom Quilt. Freedom quilts are quilts that were created by slaves in the Southern USA prior to the Civil War that would help them escape to freedom in the Northern States and Canada. They were handmade maps that depicted landmarks and directions within the design of the quilt.

This book is the story of Joanna who escaped from an unbearable situation where her master abused her. She made it to Pennsylvania and was sheltered by a family who cared for her while she waited out her pregnancy. After her son was born they planned to move her to Canada but before that could happen the slave hunters found her and drug her back to her former master. The book tells about Joanna's determination to return to the son she left behind in the North when she was recaptured and how she managed to piece together a quilt to help her remember how to get back to the farm to reclaim her son. This quilt was her salvation in more ways than she ever realized. It kept her will to be independent and free strong even when hope was dim. It helped her comfort her other children and it inspired her to never give up on her dream of freedom. The quilt was passed down and eventually made it's way into a museum where decendents of the family who helped her located it and piece together her story.

At times Joanna's story is harsh and sad but I think it gives a feel for how those times affected everyone involved with slavery. It was and is a terrible thing. It is beyond horrible for those who are slaves but it also brings out evil and terrible things in those who own slaves.

This book is a good piece of historical fiction that depicts the courage and strenth that women find within themselves and express through their handiwork. Quilting is an amazing art form and this story tells how it became a lifeline for the desparate people who desired their personal freedom so much that they risked everything they had, especially their lives to gain.