Good Dirt: one woman's emotional journey into the past to find her future

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson is the story of one woman’s journey to piece together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom and finds herself in the process. When Ebby Freeman was ten years old, a gunshot shattered her family and a priceless heirloom as her beloved brother, Baz, lying on the floor and the centuries old jar in pieces next to him. As the case goes unsolved, it remains a point of interest for the public as the Freemans are one of the only Black families in a very well-to-do neighborhood of New England. As Ebby’s fiancé leaves her at the altar, the family’s history is once again a source of public talk. To escape the scrutiny and heal her wounded heart, Ebby flees to France. As she begins to process her family’s suffering and her own heartache, she discovers the key to her future is in the handcrafted pottery, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. 

After reading Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson’s beautiful debut, I knew I was in for an emotional journey with the characters of Good Dirt. And Good Dirt did not disappoint. Without knowing the full history of the jar, my heart broke when I read how it shattered and it broke more as the stories involving the jar were revealed. I loved how Ebby finds her future in the stories of her family’s past and finds strength of her ancestors within herself. Ms Wilkerson beautifully tackles grief, racism, the importance of our ancestries, mental health and trauma. I especially loved her portrayal of how deep and complex grief can be even years after the events. Good Dirt has a bit of mystery woven with history, romance and drama. It is a book that you will need to take your time reading, especially after the highly emotional chapters, in order to really absorb and digest what happened. I highly recommend Good Dirt. 

Good Dirt is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Black Cake: a moving story of betrayals, secrets and memories

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson is the story of two estranged siblings who must set aside their differences to deal with their mother’s sudden death. Bryon and Benny Bennett will soon learn that there was more to their mother than they ever knew. After their mother’s death, they learn she left them a voice message, sharing her past, a past she kept hidden from everyone. Her request is that after they hear her message, they sit down when the time is right and share the last black cake she has ever made, made from a family recipe steeped in tradition. Eleanor’s story begins with a headstrong young swimmer in the Caribbean who escapes under a cloud of suspicion. Together, brother and sister learn their mother’s heartbreaking tale filled with the secrets she has held, and would challenge everything they thought they knew about their mother and even themselves. Will Eleanor’s story bring them together once again? Or would the revelations prove to be too much and separate them permanently? 

This moving story of a family inheritance is so beautifully written that it's hard to fathom that it is a debut novel. Ms. Wilkerson writes a story so intricate and powerful that the reader is taken on a journey of how one family is forever changed by the choices of the generation before. It is a story of betrayals, secrets, and memories. Black Cake reminds the readers that while we cannot choose what we inherit, we can choose who we become. There are many characters with many shifts in timelines and points of view that can get confusing if one is not reading close. I enjoyed the family saga aspect of the story with the emphasis on food and the memories it can invoke. However, there were too many topics covered in terms of cultural, social and political issues that it, at times, bogged down the story. The use of foreshadowing and the element of surprise was overused that a pattern emerged that when a twist was revealed, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Some I figured out almost as soon as another person was introduced in the story. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Black Cake and would highly recommend it. 

Black Cake is available on February 1 in hardcover, eBook and audiobook