New York: Warner, (2001.) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The author's first novel , an epic story of 4 generations of African American women, from slavery through the Civil War and the turbulent years afterwards, into the 20th century, based on the author's research into her own family in Louisiana. INSCRIBED on the title page. Introducttion by the author describing how she came to write this book. Illustrated with photographs and family trees. Map endpapers. xii, 418 pp. ISBN: 0-446-530522.