The Tattered Black Book

Some secrets are kept to protect the people we love.

Some secrets are kept because the truth would burn everything down.

It begins with a discovery: a diary and a wedding photo, found glued to the bottom of a cabinet drawer. When young Danny asks her Auntie about them, Auntie answers: “This book is the story of an Indian boy who dared to do what one Caucasian girl’s father deemed unforgivable.” And then she begins to tell the truth she has kept for over sixty years.

Set between 1883 and 1951, The Tattered Black Book is the story of Charlotte Wickham — daughter of a powerful attorney — and Tey Aihamson, the Lenape Indian boy she meets in grade school and falls in love with. When they run off together, defying Charlotte’s father and defying the prejudices of their time, the consequences are devastating. Waves of heartbreak, violence, and silence that last for decades.

Persistently suspenseful and rich with period detail, this is a novel about what racism costs, what love survives, and what families are willing to bury — and what happens when the truth finally refuses to stay buried.

For readers of The Help, Pachinko, and Where the Crawdads Sing.