Forsaking All Others

River Knoll, 1858

Belle and Sudie have been inseparable since childhood, sharing secrets, dreams, and sorrows. But a trip to Wisconsin to care for Belle’s uncle will test their loyalty, their love, and—ultimately–their freedom.

Belle is the only daughter of a wealthy plantation owner in Missouri and engaged to marry Tazewell Jackson, a captain in the U.S. Army. Raised in the insular community that is a plantation, Belle has known no other life. She does not question the way of things until the day she meets her uncle’s business partner, Noah Rydell and discovers that he and her uncle are using their stagecoach inn as a cover for the Underground Railroad. Sudie is dedicated to Belle but yearns for a life beyond the confines of slavery. She is in love with Zeke, a field hand from a neighboring plantation, and plans to run away with him to Canada where they can be together and free.

As Belle wrestles with her devotion to her family and her growing love for Noah, Sudie battles with her loyalty to Belle pitted against the chance to make a difference in the lives of her own people.

Forsaking All Others is a captivating historical novel that explores the complex relationship between a Southern woman and her house slave and best friend in the turbulent times of the pre-Civil War era. It is a story of courage, sacrifice, and love.