Not Far from Freedom

A young woman makes an impetuous journey from Washington, DC to the Kentucky cabin of her century-old great-grandmother, seeking answers and direction. “Great,” born into slavery as Susan in Bardstown, Kentucky, takes her great-granddaughter, Marian, known as “Sweetpea,” on a journey into the past.

Great shares the surprising past of their ancestors—from entry onto American shores in Charleston, South Carolina, to the rich Virginia tobacco plantations and verdant farmland of Kentucky. Sweetpea sees that the women from whom she is descended were not pushovers, submissive, or weak, as women frequently were depicted in antebellum literature.

The old woman pulls deep into her memory, sharing stories that might have been lost forever if not for her great-granddaughter’s desperate search for solace. Great’s stories of cross-generational survival, striving, determination, and forgiveness help Sweetpea chart her future on the cusp of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement.

This historical novel, set in 1955, is based on the author’s genealogical research and family oral history. Great’s unique voice, and her interaction with Sweetpea, are evocative and enlightening.

About the Author

Emma McElvaney Talbott—educator, freelance writer, human rights advocate—is the youngest of seven children raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She taught in Jefferson County Public Schools and served as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville, Clark-Atlanta University, and Spalding University.

She published her first book, The Joy and Challenge of Raising African American Children, in 1996. For seven years, Talbott served as parenting editor for Family Digest magazine and Family Digest Baby magazine. Driven by a desire to write and speak truth to power, she was a part of the inaugural class of Courier-Journal Forum Fellows and frequently writes opinion editorials.

Along with other foot soldiers, Talbott helped turn the course of history by participating in Louisville civil rights demonstrations, the 1963 March on Washington, and the 1964 March on Frankfort (Kentucky). She has traced her family roots in Kentucky back more than two centuries and believes that we are only as strong as the next generation. She spends her time playing the piano, reading, and exploring her history through genealogy research. She is married to Cecil E. Talbott Sr., and has two adult sons and six grandchildren.