An epic novel, both engrossing and poignant, about freedom, identity, and resurrection of the spirit in the pre-Civil War South.Insane with grief at the death of her daughter, plantation mistress Amanda Satterfield steals a newborn slave from its mother, christens the infant Granada, and presents the child in her own daughter's clothes at public events, much to the outrage of her husband, whom she blames for her daughter's death. Seeing no ordinary remedy for his wife's madness and terrified of losing his slave population to a mysterious plague, Amanda's husband purchases Polly Shine, a thorny old healer whose sharp tongue and seditious predictions unsettle and enrage the plantation. Is Polly a clever charlatan, meddlesome witch, or divine redeemer?When Polly recognizes "the gift" in Granada, now a willful, house-raised slave of twelve, a battle of wills erupts that persists over four generations and the most decisive moments in American racial history. Will Granada come to terms with her history, her people, and her destiny?Grounded in exhaustive research and interviews with descendants of slaves and slave owners, The Healing weaves together the lives of three strong women into a powerful and poignant saga, a testament to the potential of story to heal the soul of a people.JONATHAN ODELL is the author of the acclaimed novel The View from Delphi, the story of the struggle for equality in pre-civil rights Mississippi, his home state. His short stories and essays have appeared in numerous collections. He spent his business career as a leadership coach to Fortune 500 companies and currently resides in Minnesota.http://jon-odell.com/https://www.facebook.com/jonohohoh