I Can't Wait to Call You My Wife: African American Letters of Love and Family in the Civil War Era

Against the backdrop of bloody battles and political maneuvering, thousands of African Americans spent the Civil War trying to hold their families together. Whether enslaved or free, they strove not only to survive but also to cultivate bonds of family, friendship, and community. This moving book illuminates that struggle through the letters exchanged by African Americans before, during, and just after the war. Despite harsh laws against literacy and brutal practices that broke apart black families, people found ways to write to each other against all odds. Their letters reveal humanity’s ability to endure extraordinary hardship.

© 2023 Recorded Books (Lydbog): 9781705097571

Release date

Lydbog: 30. maj 2023