Sharon Ewell Foster, Abraham's Well

Abraham's Well

Sharon Ewell Foster

Bethany House, November 2006, $12.99

ISBN 0764228870

In 1838, as the Indians are forced from their homes in the South East United States to walk the "Trail of Tears" to reservations in the Oklahoma Territory, their slaves are forced to accompany them. Whereas the hardship leads to the deaths of many of the purebred, the enslaved "Black Cherokee", considered beneath the human food chain by blacks and by Indians, suffer the most.

In that environs, preadolescent Black Cherokee slave Armentia and her family, owned by purebred Cherokees, are treated reasonably well, but still sold as cattle to others who might not worry about their lowlife human stock. Hope for this subgroup is zero, and the forced march spirals it downward. However, Armentia finds solace in Jesus, who was there for those like her in ancient Judea, and she believes will one day set her people free. A well on her owner's land that she dubs ABRAHAM'S WELL becomes her symbol, that one day she and other suppressed people will live free to worship Jesus as the savior, and to own their own well.

This is inspirational historical fiction at its best, as Sharon Ewell Foster provides a fabulous insightful look back at a somewhat ignored atrocity through the eyes of a real person (an ancestor of the award winning author). The storyline follows Armentia's account of events, including the deadly trek, her finding Jesus giving her hope when others had none, and the symbol of the well. The underlying critical theme is to never forget in order to prevent a repeat of these crimes against nature: this early nineteenth century rendition and the enslavement of people in this case because they are of mixed race.