"You'll be swept away by the passion and power of this remarkable, trailblazing woman who risked everything to follow her own heart." – Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author "An epic page-turner." – Christina Baker Kline Named Best Fiction Writer in the Austin Chronicle's "Austin's Best 2018" Named one of Lone Star Literary Life's "Top 20 Texas Books of 2018" The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the only woman to ever serve with the legendary Buffalo Soldiers. “Here’s the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my mama never let me forget it.” Though born into bondage on a “miserable tobacco farm” in Little Dixie, Missouri, Cathy Williams was never allowed to consider herself a slave. According to her mother, she was a captive, destined by her noble warrior blood to escape the enemy. Her chance at freedom presents itself with the arrival of Union general Phillip Henry “Smash ‘em Up” Sheridan, the outcast of West Point who takes the rawboned, prideful young woman into service. At war’s end, having tasted freedom, Cathy refuses to return to servitude and makes the monumental decision to disguise herself as a man and join the Army’s legendary Buffalo Soldiers. Alone now in the ultimate man’s world, Cathy must fight not only for her survival and freedom, but she also vows to never give up on finding her mother, her little sister, and the love of the only man strong enough to win her heart. Inspired by the stunning, true story of Private Williams, this American heroine comes to vivid life in a sweeping and magnificent tale about one woman’s fight for freedom, respect and independence.

"... Mostly stories and thoughts from ... the Blood tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy, living on the Northern Plains next to the Rocky Mountains."--Foreword.

Finalist for the PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowship for Writers It is the mid-1800s. Fela, taken from Africa, is working at her second sugar plantation in colonial Puerto Rico, where her mistress is only too happy to benefit from her impressive embroidery skills. But Fela has a secret. Before she and her husband were separated and sold into slavery, they performed a tribal ceremony in which they poured the essence of their unborn child into a very special stone. Fela keeps the stone with her, waiting for the chance to finish what she started. When the plantation owner approaches her, Fela sees a better opportunity for her child, and allows the man to act out his desire. Such is the beginning of a line of daughters connected by their intense love for one another, and the stories of a lost land. Mati, a powerful healer and noted craftswoman, is grounded in a life that is disappearing in a quickly changing world. Concha, unsure of her place, doesn't realize the price she will pay for rejecting her past. Elena, modern and educated, tries to navigate between two cultures, moving to the United States, where she will struggle to keep her family together. Carisa turns to the past for wisdom and strength when her life in New York falls apart. The stone becomes meaningful to each of the women, pulling them through times of crisis and ultimately connecting them to one another. Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa shows great skill and warmth in the telling of this heartbreaking, inspirational story about mothers and daughters, and the ways in which they hurt and save one another.

Wisdom is Women’s Gift to the World. In the many cultural stories that speak about the changing of the ages, it is always Feminine Spirit which brings about the transition to new life, for Feminine Spirit knows the rhythms of life, death, and rebirth and is the “opener of the way.” In times of cultural transformation, it is also our right-brain, feminine consciousness that is our best guide, for it opens us to the creative imagination, the realm of possibility. The return of the Goddess awakens the transformative energy that births the changing of the ages. In the western story of worldwide spiritual transformation, there is a powerful image of Cosmic Woman, an image of the archetypal Feminine Spirit who transforms and gives birth to this new age. And her archetypal image gives us instructions for opening to and incarnating wisdom. This image of the awakening Feminine Spirit is an image of the Conscious Woman: a woman, clothed with the sun, standing on the moon, crowned with stars, who is in labor, giving birth to a savior. In earlier times and different traditions, this archetypal image was understood as Lady Wisdom. Today I feel this Goddess image of conscious woman can be incarnated by women everywhere. This woman clothed with the sun is Lady Wisdom, who calls all women to become her daughters. “I love Cathy’s insights into fairy tales, mythology, dreams, astrological energies, and archetypes. She makes sense of how our lives are impacted by these complex yet very beautiful elements, making them accessible and keeping them profound. Her wisdom can only enhance anyone lucky enough to have crossed her path.” —Alix Toland, Artist & Creator of Color-Scope: An Astrological Mandala

Buffalo Bird Girl (ca. 1839-1932) was a member of the Hidatsa, a Native American community that lived in permanent villages along the Missouri River on the Great Plains. Like other girls her age, Buffalo Bird Girl learned the ways of her people through watching and listening, and then by doing. She helped plant crops in the spring, tended the fields through the summer, and in autumn joined in the harvest. She learned to prepare animal skins, dry meat, and perform other duties. There was also time for playing games with friends and training her dog. When her family visited the nearby trading post, there were all sorts of fascinating things to see from the white man’s settlements in the East. Award-winning author and artist S. D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux) captures the spirit of Buffalo Bird Girl by interweaving the actual words and stories of Buffalo Bird Woman with his artwork and archival photographs. Backmatter includes a history of the Hidatsa and a timeline.

A Lakota Indian legend in which the White Buffalo Woman presents her people with the Sacred Calf Pipe which gives them the means to pray to the Great Spirit.