The Book of Lost Friends: A Novel

A historical novel set in Louisiana during Reconstruction and in 1987, following two interconnected stories. In 1875, three young women—Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, an impoverished plantation heir; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia's Creole half sister—embark on a dangerous journey toward Texas. Each carries personal wounds and secrets. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the trip stems from stolen inheritance and financial need. For Hannie, separated from her mother and siblings before slavery ended, the journey westward raises the possibility that her lost family might still exist somewhere beyond the swamps. In 1987, first-year teacher Benedetta Silva accepts a subsidized position at a struggling rural school in Augustine, Louisiana, hoping to pay down her student debt. She struggles to understand her impoverished students and the town's resistance to change. However, hidden within the town's history—among its live oaks and old plantation homes—lies the century-old story of three young women, their long-ago journey, and a concealed book that may hold significance. The novel draws from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, in which newly freed slaves searched for family members who had been sold away.