The Blood of My Mother
The Blood of My Mother
2023
Buy the Book
After the deaths of her white father and mixed-race mother, young Eliza is left with neither home nor family in the newly forming frontier of Texas.
Enslaved by men who treat her body as their property, she eventually escapes, marries, becomes a mother, and realizes her dream of having a small farm. But she must fight and kill to keep it—even if it does mean welcoming others who have been shunned or forgotten by society. Living and laboring together, will these outcasts find the strength and community they need to survive and flourish?
Acclaimed for her “wonderful” debut novel (Publishers Weekly), Roccie Hill, inspired by the story of her great-great grandmother, now presents an unforgettable literary saga of a woman and a place, growing and enduring under multiple flags and through the sorrows and turbulence of history.
“Robbed by fate and evil-doers of everything except her ferocious spirit, Eliza fights for her own space in the pitiless frontier that will become the state of Texas. Combining lyrical prose and non-stop action, Roccie Hill conjures an unforgettable character, based loosely on her own great-great grandmother, who somehow triumphs over nearly unthinkable privations. Hill’s Eliza springs to life as a true American original. I could not stop reading.”
“…Roccie Hill has crafted a heartbreaking and beautiful, bold and courageous coming-of-age tale set in a meticulously-researched 19th century Texas. Hill’s lyrical prose is the heartbeat that drives a fascinating narrative rich with imagery of a rough land suffering the birth pangs of a territory on the precipice of statehood, and all the lawlessness, wickedness, bravery and grace that it entails. The resonance of antebellum language, customs and mores of the times suffuses the poignant and compelling story of protagonist Eliza Green, whose pluck and grit are revealed through the voice of an author that is nothing short of transcendent. Exciting, often terrifying, and ultimately hopeful, THE BLOOD OF MY MOTHER is a relentlessly entertaining and unique novel.”
“The Blood of My Mother, based loosely on the life of Roccie Hill’s mixed race great-great grandmother, is a dazzling piece of historical fiction, at once poetic and action filled. Taking the reader through nearly a century of Texas history, Hill introduces unforgettable characters including indigenous, Mexican, African, and white settlers, all against the backdrop of the fierce and simple heart of Eliza Moore, a refugee from Mississippi. A brilliant yet disturbing book, I could not put it down until I turned the very last page.”
Lonesome Dove meets Where the Crawdads Sing. I simply could not put this novel down. Vividly written, The Blood of My Mother is a gripping saga about a perilous time in our nation’s history and a woman who survived it against all odds. It is a novel about how love and hope transcend man’s inhumanity to man. I was pulled deeply into the story and was held there until the very last page.
“As a child, I saw my first American Indian outside Albuquerque. A big, rotund lady covered in colored beads, sitting by the side of the train tracks, selling trinkets and tightly woven baskets. I pointed to a small polished stone whose color I had never seen. The woman smiled, picked it up and held it out; it looked so bright against the brown callused hand. I nodded vigorously. Holding out my money, we exchanged treasures. I clutched my first turquoise, reveled in the real America, both still heart warm from the desert sun. So began my love of the real American West. Roccie Hill, through all the terrors and trials of her heroine, never loses sight of the true beauty to be found out here and in this wonderful book.”
“…one of those exceptional books you don’t want to put down. Set in the early to mid-1800s, its scope follows the life of a young half-white, half-Melungeon girl, who grows to womanhood, always carrying the weight of her mother’s bloodline. Her struggles to find her place in the new western lands of a young country will leave you wanting more.”