Apr 22, 2020
When contemplating identity, it’s important to know your history. But learning about that history is possible in many forms. Today, on the first episode of its kind, we will examine history through the lens of a book. Specifically, we will discuss the history of Jamaica, slavery, and generational trauma through author Maisy Card’s debut novel – These Ghosts Are Family.
Mark Twain once said through a character that truth is stranger than fiction. And it’s true. Some of the most disturbing fictional tales are inspired by real life events. Further refining this point, I say that history is stranger than fiction. Made up tales of black origin stories steeped in darkness are virtually always inspired by a history that is much worse.
Take for instance the classic American novel, Beloved. Toni Morrison created this disturbing work of art after being inspired by unbelievable history. She found a newspaper clipping from the 1800s. It was short, but described an enslaved woman who had run away from a plantation. Moments before she was recaptured, the woman made a horrific decision. She chose to kill her children rather than see them live in bondage. Morrison was struck by the weight of such a decision and the haunting emotions that must have lingered long after the children left this world. And from that contemplation, Morrison created a novel that continues to touch the lives of readers generations later.
Maisy Card’s novel has the potential to do the same. From dark pasts she has created a wonderful multi-generational saga grappling with identity, ancestry, and untold black history.
Card was born in St. Ann Jamaica, but was raised in Jamaica Queens, New York. Her ties to these lands exemplify the first connection between her reality and the world she creates. Toggling between time periods, the novel spans from 2020 to 1813.
BONUS: This episode includes a Q&A with the author, Maisy Card!
Check out the show notes at AmericanOriginStories.com
The episode was written, produced, and edited by host Chauneice Davis Yeagley.