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River Sing Me Home

By: Eleanor Shearer
Narrated by: Debra Michaels, Eleonor Shearer
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Publisher's summary

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • This beautiful redemptive story of a mother’s gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children and piece her family back together is a “celebration of motherhood and female resilience” (The Observer).

Named One of Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 • A Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist

“A powerful novel that explores how freedom and family are truly defined”—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian

Her search begins with an ending.…

The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.

Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children—the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children...and her freedom.

©2023 Eleanor Shearer (P)2023 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

"Shearer’s dynamic debut… weaves together a historical accounting of the perils of British emancipation with a moving interrogation of what freedom really means." —Time

"[A] gripping novel about the resilience of a mother’s love.” —People

“A powerful novel that explores how freedom and family are truly defined.” —Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian

Dear Listener,

What was the exact moment I decided to write So When Are You Having Kids?
When I was a teenager, I went to an exhibition that taught me about the women in the Caribbean who went looking for their children after emancipation. The true stories of these brave women who refused to let slavery destroy their families for good stayed with me for almost 10 years before I finally wrote River Sing Me Home. This is a novel about what it means to be free and what comes after slavery has ended, and to me, a mother searching for her stolen children is an incredibly powerful act of resistance that I wanted to celebrate through telling Rachel’s story. - Eleanor Shearer, writer of River Sing Me Home

What listeners say about River Sing Me Home

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Welcome to perseverance

Heartfelt story. Empowering women of all colors. Welcome to perseverance would be a great title too.

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Inspiring and beautiful

Eloquently written and a story that should not be forgotten. Precious children were stolen from their families. A mother’s love will ensure a reunion against all perils. Thank you for the beautiful story especially now when history is being hidden from our children.

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A heartbreakingly beautiful story

I was deeply touched by the characters and the story line. It is well written and well narrated.

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Just learned a piece of our history

This was a sad and sweet story depicting the strength of island women. Realizing I quite liked the setting.

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Sing us home

Riveting! Thank you Ms Shearer for allowing us this bit of our history. I was able to hear and enjoy some of our story.

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lovely narrator, easy listening story

A great story that was easy enough to listen to while doing housework without getting distracted. This does not a wildly complex story line if that's what you like. The story is based on historical events which I love. No weird fantasy vibes or unrealistic events. Just a good story :)

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Great book

The narration made the book even more enjoyable. I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed.

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Hauniting


A tragic and yet beautiful at times recounting of a mother’s love for her children. The narrator’s voice was filled with the emotion that f the story.

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slow start but ends too fast

A story like this has so many layers that it seems to start slow as you get the historical background and characters are introduced. very well written, performed. i could see this as a movie. In fact I was imagining the characters as actresses. While set then, it is the story of do many now. the effects are still here, done choose to live themselves as they are and others as they want to be seen. In some way we all find our happiness or at least that's what we tell ourselves.

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Beautifully Written

I was instantly captivated by the depth of the characters and invested in this mother’s search for her children. The narrator does a phenomenal job of making this story real. Unforgettable!

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2 people found this helpful