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Balm: From the New York Times bestselling author of Take My Hand

Dolen Perkins-Valdez

4 Reviews

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Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Historical fiction, Slavery & abolition of slavery

The New York Times bestselling author of Wench and Take My Hand returns to the Civil War era in this powerful story of love and healing.

HOPE CAN SET YOU FREE . . .

'GORGEOUS' WASHINGTON POST
'MOVING' USA TODAY
'RIVETING' VALERIE MARTIN

The Civil War has ended, and Madge, Sadie, and Hemp have each come to Chicago in search of a new life.

Born with magical hands, Madge has the power to discern others' suffering, but she cannot heal her own damaged heart. Sadie can commune with the dead, but until she makes peace with her father, she, too, cannot fully engage her gift. Meanwhile, Hemp is searching for his missing family in a city that shimmers with possibility. But redemption cannot be possible until he is reunited with those taken from him . . .

In the bitter aftermath of war, as a divided nation tries to come together, Madge, Sadie, and Hemp will be caught up in an unexpected battle for survival in a community desperate to lay the pain of the past to rest.

Beautiful in its historical atmosphere and emotional depth, Balm is a stirring novel of love, loss, hope, and reconciliation set during one of the most critical periods in American history.

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Praise for Balm: From the New York Times bestselling author of Take My Hand

  • Moving . . . In gorgeous, compassionate prose, Perkins-Valdez continues our national conversation about people working together to heal our communities - Washington Post

  • A powerful novel . . . a tale of individual loves, longings, and losses bound together by the healing balm of hope. Perkins-Valdez truly captures the American spirit - New York Journal of Books

  • Elegantly crafted . . . captures the fierce energy, diversity, and suffering of Civil War-era Chicago . . . Perkins-Valdez moves gracefully among her three protagonists' viewpoints as they struggle to claim their authentic gifts and free themselves of the pain of their pasts - Publishers Weekly

  • From the first page, I fell under the spell of the magical BALM. Powerful characters and exquisite prose bring to life a tumultuous period of American history that still demands our attention . . . With emotional depth and evocative detail, Dolen Perkins-Valdez has written a beautiful novel I will not soon forget - Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of HOUSE GIRL

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Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench (2010), Balm (2015), and most recently Take My Hand (2022). She is an Associate Professor at American University and lives in Washington, DC with her family.

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