Nicole Seitz, The Spirit of Sweet Grass

The Spirit of Sweet Grass

Nicole Seitz

Integrity, February 2007, $13.99

ISBN: 1591455065

South Carolina septuagenarian Essie Mae Laveau Jenkins sits by the side of rural Highway 17 as she has for decades, making sweetgrass love baskets. The weaver insists to those who worry about her that she is not alone, as husband Daddy Jim sits by her side, though he died years ago. Essie Mae believes her "love baskets" helps those who buy them from her roadside stand, though she takes no chances, as she adds prayers for those in need, just as her beloved Auntie Leona taught her decades ago.

Now her loved ones want to place the seventy-eight year old weaver into a home. Daddy Jim tells her to join him in Heaven where Jesus awaits her coming. She does, but besides her beloved spouse and the Son of God, she meets her recently deceased African-American relatives and ancestors from Africa, making her feel complete and at home. However, back on earth her descendants are in trouble, needing Essie Mae to return to give them the strength to come together.

This deep character study will provide inspiration to readers, as Essie Mae deals with mortality, deaths of loved ones, sacrifice, the radical changing of her world and coming to heaven. She keeps the story line flowing on earth and in heaven, as fans will be fascinated with how the sweetgrass basket weaver puts love into her work. Though local dialect adds a sense of locale, and to a degree purpose, it also adds some difficulty to the read. Still, this is a magnificent profound look at a person who has an inner strength few contain.