Toni Norton

Mr McBrides’s characters and the neighborhood where they live will have a place in your heart as you finish this novel with a dreamy smile on your face.

I’m giving it 4 stars so far. Had no idea what it was about, have not read or listened to any of her novels, but this was on a list of Best Reads, so I requested it from my library. It’s breaking my heart as I listen to it. I keep Googling to confirm the dates. My mother and her entire family were part of the Great Migration during the depression years. They moved from Texas to California, but detoured up to Portland, Oregon for a couple of years. My mom told me about the horrible dust storms and chilblains they suffered in Texas. I always wondered why they took that longer route, stopping in Portland. A friend that I worked with told me a story about how her father used to tell her stories about how he and her grandfather were part of a group of men that would take pitch forks and shovels and block entry of the “Oakies” into California. It didn’t make sense to me. My mom told me that she worked really hard when she got to California, as a child to rid herself of her “Oakie” accent. I’m 67 now. My parents and grandparents and finally last Aunt (the baby) died in 2020. I wish I had them to talk to about this story. I did read Grapes of Wrath as a teenager and with tears in my eyes asked my mom about it. She said it wasn’t nearly so bad for her family because my Grandfather was a great mechanic and got work easily. I’m grateful for this novel and the insight it gives me about this period in our history. I agree that the the struggle of the White Dust Bowl Migrants has no comparison to the horror of slavery, and the continuing racism that afflicts the upward mobility of people of color. I’m hoping and praying that this social disease of Racism is fighting its last gasp and will end within the lifetime of people alive today. My grandparents were able to overcome their Dustbowl nightmare and “Oakie” stigma in their own lifetime. However, this is still an amazing and hopeful view into a horrible time in our history and how we triumphed. Haven’t finished it yet, but I know how it turned out for my family.