Abraham’s Well

Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: 3Sisters (Three Sisters) Publishing; CROP Hunger Walk Edition  (October 16, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0692787275
ISBN-13: 978-0692787274

Buy the book

The time is 1838. . . Inspired by true events, authentic slave narratives, and other historical accounts, “Abraham’s Well” is the profoundly moving story of the Black Cherokee–African Americans, both slave and free–who, along with Native people, walked the Trail of Tears. It is the story of their forced migration from the Southeast to Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). And of a feisty girl’s courage and faith on her journey to womanhood and freedom.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, “Abraham’s Well”, winner of the 2006 Romantic Times Award for Best Inspirational, is as relevant today as when it was first published and features Native American, African American and White characters. This special edition of “Abraham’s Well” which features a foreword by John McCullough, CWS President and CEO, will benefit hungry and displaced people around the world through Church World Services’ CROP Hunger Walk Program.

Buy the book

 

Endorsements for Abraham’s Well

…a special book that tells the complex story of the life of a black family immersed in Indian culture, language and history. … a poignant story …well-told story.  The reader will long remember Abraham’s Well and will be touched ….
–Angela Y. Walton-Raji, genealogist and author, African-NativeAmerican.com/  

“Foster returns to historical fiction with an evocative tale of the sticky lies and bloody promises of an often untold journey in American history–the trek of the Indian slave on The Trail of Tears. As a Christian, a woman, an African American and one who also has “Indian in her family” this book took me 1000 miles in both my heart and mind. As always, Foster’s mastery of setting and language paint a family and a nation that we must never forget. This book will be required reading for all my children and their children after them. It’s not to be missed.”
–Marilynn Griffith, author of Pink and Made of Honor

“Sharon Ewell Foster merges little known history with fiction to pen another amazing novel with Abraham’s Well. In her trademark style – rich language that makes you want to read passages again and again and descriptions that take you back two hundred years – Foster creates an engaging story that not only pulls on every one of your heart strings, but will have you talking out loud to the characters.  Abraham’s Well is hard to put down.  Definitely, one of the best reads of the year!”
–Victoria Christopher Murray

“Abraham’s Well  is a fascinating glimpse into forgotten corners of American history, which we would do well to remember. Throughout the novel, Sharon Ewell Foster’s words flow effortlessly across the landscape of the reader’s mind, painting vivid pictures that educate, entertain, delight, horrify, and in the end, offer the kind of hope and comfort we can only receive from the hands of a master storyteller.”
–Athol Dickson, author of River Rising

“Abraham’s Well  is a special story, as it tells the complex story of the life of a black family immersed into Indian culture, language and history. This is the story that follows a black Indian family slaves of the Cherokees. It is the story of a family that endured the pain of the Trail of Tears, and cried their own tears, and later saw the new nation emerge in Indian Territory while still in bondage.

Abraham’s Well is a poignant story where the reader sees the complexity of life not only for the slaves, but also for the Indians who enslaved them.  The effects of the Trail of Tears, the effects of slavery and the effects of the Civil War are all evident in this well-told story.  The reader will long remember Abraham’s Well and will be touched as the family was touched as they encountered Ketoowah’s Son.”
–Angela Y. Walton-Raji

Reviews for Abraham’s Well

“Foster (Passing By Samaria; Ain’t No Valley; etc.) returns to historical fiction with this innovative and intriguing novel set in mid-19th-century America. …A fascinating ‘note from the author’ discusses Foster’s own Indian heritage, and provocatively suggests that black people have sometimes claimed Indian lineage in order to distance themselves from their African-American identity. This is the rare historical novel that both entertains and educates.” –
–Publishers Weekly

*Starred Review* Foster drops back to 1838 to tell the story of black Cherokees forced along the Trail of Tears. Her young heroine, Armentia, lives an idyllic life in North Carolina, but greedy whites scheme for the land and bring about the loathsome Indian Removal Act. Armentia watches as her brother is dragged into slavery, and then as most of her tribe, the Deer Clan, dies on the trail. Nor does Oklahomaturn out to be paradise, with Cherokees preying on Cherokees and Armentia sold into slavery. This is simply told and moving, Foster’s best work since her groundbreaking first novel, Passing by Samaria (2000).
–John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

“…Foster writes in the honest, direct, occasionally folksy style of a slave narrative, recounting Armentia’s journey from innocence to resigned wisdom in the first person. Time and again, Armentia sees others trade her friendship, love, and trust for material gain. Neither her child’s viewpoint nor the reader’s foreknowledge of her survival into old age lessens the impact of the heartbreak she experiences. Foster also proves descriptions of graphic violence unnecessary in conveying the unexpected horrors that shape a slave’s existence. Elements of her Christian faith, which gives Armentia hope in the hardest of times, are woven into the narrative in a natural, historically appropriate fashion. But Abraham’s Well is not only a powerful indictment against slavery, it’s also a revelation of the hidden history of the Black Cherokee, who know the shame of both cultures but belong fully to neither, not even today. The concluding author’s note, in which Foster explores her own perplexing family history, makes her tale even more meaningful. An impressive, impeccably researched novel that deserves to be widely read; highly recommended.”
— Sarah Johnson, Historical Novels Review, Editors Choice

“…readers will feel the heartbreak and trials of this horrific ordeal, but will also experience the joys.”
— Melissa Parcel, Romantic Times

“…will introduce you to a character you won’t soon forget….by book’s end…you will be stronger and wiser for having taken the journey.”
— Violet Nesdoly, blogcritics.org

“This historical tale is one of Foster’s best efforts, if not her best, and deserves a wide reading audience.”
— Cindy Crosby, faithfulreader.com

“This is the rare historical novel that both entertains and educates.”
— Publishers Weekly