New to Liberty - by Demisty D Bellinger (Hardcover)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><b>With deft, insightful prose and great compassion, DeMisty D. Bellinger beautifully captures the private longings, struggles, and complex moments of bliss of three women in rural Kansas. The characters in <i>New to Liberty</i> are so richly drawn, their voices and inner lives so intimate and real, I felt like these women were sharing their secrets just with me, and I wanted to hear the stories of all the women who ever passed through Liberty, Kansas. I loved this book. --Elizabeth Crane, author of <i>The History of Great Things</i></b> <p/> <i>New to Liberty</i> transports readers to the heartland, a rural community marked by poverty and isolation, as seen through the eyes of two outsiders and one of their own. In 1966, teenage Sissily is on her way to California with an older man to begin a life together, when he insists on stopping at his family ranch in Kansas to see his mother. This family reunion is a painful reminder for Sissily of the truth about her own heritage and why she ran away, as she meets women who, decades later, are permanently scarred by the Great Depression. <p/> In 1947, Nella's family relocates to Kansas from Milwaukee during the summer before her senior year, where she begins an interracial relationship with a white man called Lucky. They can only meet in secret, or as Lucky is in a wheelchair sometimes Nella pretends to be his nurse. When three white men stumble upon Nurse Nella one catastrophic afternoon, the violence of a racist society forces Nella to face the reality of their situation. In 1933, at the height of the dust bowl and brutal jackrabbit roundups, surrounded by violence and starvation, Greta finds love with another farm woman. Their clandestine encounters will be unsustainable for obvious reasons but will have consequences for generations. <p/> A novel told in three parts, <i>New to Liberty</i> showcases the strength and resolve of three unforgettable women growing up in a society that refuses to evolve. Intimate and concise, with piercing insights, DeMisty D. Bellinger brings the quiet, but treacherous landscape to life, offering a snapshot of mid-century America and keeping readers guessing until the end as to how these three women are connected.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>"DeMisty D. Bellinger writes authentic, compelling voices from rural America. In <i>New to Liberty</i>, Bellinger reframes the familiar 'can you go home again?' question with the urgency of how the journey recalibrates personal and family histories. In this debut, Bellinger joins the ranks of epic, intimate family stories like John Steinbeck's <i>East of Eden</i> for its tale of truth and justice and Jane Smiley's <i>A Thousand Acres</i> for humanity's capacity for good and evil; <i>New to Liberty</i> is a contemporary voice for our historical heartland." --<b>Melissa Scholes Young, author of <i>The Hive</i></b><br><br>"Moving back through the summers of 1966, 1947, and 1933, DeMisty Bellinger's <i>New To Liberty</i> gorgeously traces the long shadow of trauma lingering over the American Midwest from the scourge of the Dust Bowl to racism and violence toward women to the fleeting beauty of forbidden love. With vibrant and restrained prose, Bellinger has achieved the seemingly impossible: written an American epic in under two hundred pages." --<b>John Copenhaver, award-winning author of <i>The Savage Kind</i></b></p><br><br>"The narrative voices in <i>New to Liberty</i> bridge eras and personal isolation, resonating like intimate friends you've somehow always known. The novel's imagery, whether steeped in beauty, horror, love, or terror, stitches itself into your own fabric, becoming a part of you long after you've turned the last page." --<b>Chris Harding Thornton, author of <i>Pickard County Atlas</i></b></p><br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>DeMisty D. Bellinger</b> has an MFA in creative writing from Southampton College and a PhD in English from the University of Nebraska. She teaches creative writing at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. She serves as poetry editor at Porcupine Literary and Malarkey Books. DeMisty's writing has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including The Rumpus and The Best Small Fictions: 2019. Her chapbook of poems Rubbing Elbows is now available and her full-length poetry collection, Peculiar Heritage, is forthcoming with Mason Jar Press.
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