With Her Baby on Her Back by Suzette D. Harrison ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Will she ever see freedom for her babies?

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July 2026; Bookouture; 978-1836181569
audio, ebook, print (378 pages); women's fiction

This beautifully written dual timeline book looks at the lives of two women who, while struggling to find their place in their worlds, learn how strong they really are.

Mississippi 1848

Zinnie is an enslaved midwife on a small farm in Mississippi.  She is the mother of three daughters, ages 10, 4, and a newborn, when the plantation owner decides that since he has become a Mormon, he wants to relocate his family and his slaves to Utah, where he can join other Mormons to build a new world.  Even though Zinnie is the healer and the midwife, she isn’t treated any better than the other slaves and works hard to get the household ready to move.  She and the other slave women are forced to walk over 2,000 miles from Mississippi to Utah.  As we get a mental picture of her walking, holding the hands of her two daughters with her newborn baby swaddled to her, we realize what a strong and resilient woman she was.  She took care of everyone around her and did what she could to reduce their burdens…but the prevailing thought in her head was somehow, someway to find freedom for herself and her daughters.  

Texas  Present Day

Lynette is a divorced mother of a son with autism, a school teacher, and part of a large family, and she is just plain tired as she balances the roles she fills while trying to decide if she should make changes in her future and go to graduate school.  While sorting some old paperwork at her grandmother’s house, she uncovers information about one of her ancestors – a woman who never gave up no matter how hard life became.  Can the memory of her long-ago ancestor help Lynette learn how to navigate her own life?

Is One Timeline Better Than the Other?

Lots of times in a dual timeline book, one timeline is more interesting than the other, but the author has made sure that both timelines are equally exciting and filled with the stories of two women who learn how much strength they really have as they face their day-to-day struggles.

Strong Women Portrayed

This is the story of two women – connected through the years – and shows the importance of family and friends in women’s lives.  Most importantly, it shows how strong women can become when they learn to rely on their own internal feelings and instincts.  

Author's Note is Important

Be sure to read the Author’s notes at the end of the book to read about Biddy Mason, the real person that Zinnie was based on.  She walked from Mississippi to Utah in 1848 because her owner had embraced the Mormon faith.  She became well known in California after she gained her freedom, managed to generate some wealth, and became a philanthropist who always believed in helping others.  

“If you hold your hand closed nothing good can come in.  The open hand is blessed for it gives in abundance, even as it receives.”

Buy With her Baby on Her Back at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

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