River Sing Me Home

A mother can never be free until she finds her children...

The Good Morning America Book Club Pick February 2023 is a soaring novel inspired by true events.

'A strong and beautiful novel that stares into the face of brutality and the heart of love' Jeanette Winterson

'An intense, absorbing debut, concerned with the power and persistence of maternal love' The Sunday Times

'Action-packed, the novel paints an extraordinary portrait of motherly love and hope' Daily Mail

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Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy.

These are the names of her children. The five who survived, only to be sold to other plantations. The faces Rachel cannot forget.

It's 1834, and the law says her people are now free. But for Rachel freedom means finding her children, even if the truth is more than she can bear.

With fear snapping at her heels, Rachel keeps moving. From sunrise to sunset, through the cane fields of Barbados to the forests of British Guiana and on to Trinidad, to the dangerous river and the open sea.

Only once she knows their stories can she rest. Only then can she finally find home.

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'Magnificent and epic. A story about love and the power it brings us' ' Frank Cottrell-Boyce

'Like the River of its title, this novel sings. I was riveted by Rachel's story and I felt every fraught element of her journey. A beautiful debut' Cherie Jones

'A powerful story, beautifully told' Jessica Moor

'Immersive. A tender exploration of one woman's courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty. The heart of the novel lies in its celebration of motherhood and female resilience' Observer

'The compelling premise of a mother in search of her children powers a moving and dynamic novel' Guardian

'A powerful, gripping novel about the strength of a mother's love' Red - The best books of January 2023

'Full of love and compassion, this will be everywhere next year' Stylist - Pick of the big fiction books for 2023

'Powerful, moving and lyrical' Woman & Home

'A glorious and compelling story' Prima

'It slices you open, lays out your parts, reassembles them and knits you back up again. A powerful account of love, loss, defiance... Breathtaking' Chikodili Emelumadu

'Beautiful. A masterclass in how to speak of unspeakable things' Meg Clothier

'Eleanor Shearer is a remarkable writer' Natasha Lester

'A searing debut.

Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so assured and so powerful you can't believe it's a debut novel. RIVER SING ME HOME is just such a book . . . Eleanor Shearer is a remarkable writer and she brings this story of a mother's courage to the page with compassion, tenderness and pitch-perfect prose -- Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House
An extraordinary odyssey of pain, love, and homecoming . . . RIVER SING ME HOME is a haunting and powerful debut -- Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
A strong and beautiful novel that stares into the face of brutality and the heart of love -- Jeanette Winterson
Epic and lyrical, a story about love and the power it brings us -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce
A searing debut full of love, loss, and the shadows of the past . . . Heartbreaking, hopeful, and unforgettable. Both a powerful ode to the endless depths of a mother's love and an important meditation on what freedom really means, this is the kind of book that will stay with readers for years to come -- Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author
An extraordinary and gripping debut. Rachel's love for her children resonates through each page as she fights for her freedom and theirs. A must-read! -- Chanel Cleeton
A powerful story, beautifully told. Shearer skilfully depicts the cruelty of the British slave trade, contrasted with one mother's indomitable love for her children, and her burning will to live. An empathic, elegantly rendered and deeply humane novel -- Jessica Moor
A powerful novel that explores how freedom and family are truly defined -- Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Personal Librarian
RIVER SING ME HOME is a masterclass in how to speak of unspeakable things. A beautiful read -- Meg Clothier
RIVER SING ME HOME slices you open . . . and knits you back up again. A powerful account of love, loss, defiance and the lengths to which a mother will go in order to make herself and her family whole again. Breathtaking -- Chikodili Emelumadu
Lyrical, heartbreaking, thought-provoking . . . A book about love, motherhood and survival that will stay with you long after you've finished it' -- Costanza Casati
I absolutely loved this book and Eleanor Shearer's lyrical prose kept me gripped as the story moved from Barbados to Demerara and Trinidad . . . a beautifully written debut -- Stacey Thomas
Propulsive . . . This compelling premise of a mother in search of her children powers a moving and dynamic novel. The pacing is swift, and Shearer writes in clear, energetic prose. There is an accessibility to the language that is refreshing; it buoys the narrative, giving us intimate access to a complex period in history Guardian
An immersive debut . . . the heart of the novel lies in its celebration of motherhood and female resilience. A tender exploration of one woman's courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty Observer
The beautifully written depiction of a mother longing for her children makes this transcendent Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Early readers of RIVER SING ME HOME are evangelical about this story . . . Full of love and compassion, this will be everywhere next year Stylist
A powerful, gripping and poetic novel about the strength of a mother's love -- Sarra Manning Red
Such a glorious and compelling story Prima
A cracking debut Belfast Telegraph
Hugely profound, hopeful and emotive this is written in lyrical prose that demonstrates Shearer's mastery of language Glamour
Action-packed, emotionally demanding, richly described, the novel paints an extraordinary portrait of motherly love and hope . . . a thoroughly compelling read Daily Mail
An intense and absorbing debut The Times
River Sing Me Home is a fine testament to the women who inspired this debut The Sunday Times
Lyrical, heart-wrenching and so well crafted -- Goodreads Reviewer
A triumph of tragedy and hope -- Goodreads Reviewer
An extraordinary tale of fearlessness, passion, motherly love and hope -- NetGalley Reviewer
This debut novel does exactly what I want historic fiction to do - teach me something while telling me a good story -- Goodreads Reviewer
The most moving, beautiful, heart-breaking yet hopeful book I've read this year. -- Goodreads Reviewer
A novel which explored, with courage, care and capability, the illusory nature of freedom at a critical point in West Indian history. I was riveted by Rachel's story and it is a testament to Eleanor's craft that I felt every fraught element of Rachel's journey to finding her children right along with her. Like the River of its title, this novel sings . . . a beautiful debut -- Cherie Jones, Women's Prize for Fiction shortlisted author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

Eleanor Shearer is a mixed-race writer and the granddaughter of Windrush generation immigrants. She splits her time between London and Ramsgate so that she never has to go too long without seeing the sea. For her Master's degree in Politics at the University of Oxford, Eleanor studied the legacy of slavery and the case for reparations. Her fieldwork was in St. Lucia and Barbados.

Powerful, moving and redemptive, RIVER SING ME HOME tells of a mother's desperate search to find her stolen children and her freedom. 'A strong and beautiful novel that stares into the face of brutality and the heart of love' JEANETTE WINTERSON ---------------------------- We whisper the names of the ones we love like the words of a song. That was the taste of freedom to us, those names on our lips. Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. These are the names of her children. The five who survived, only to be sold to other plantations. The faces Rachel cannot forget. It's 1834, and the law says her people are now free. But for Rachel freedom means finding her children, even if the truth is more than she can bear. With fear snapping at her heels, Rachel keeps moving. From sunrise to sunset, through the cane fields of Barbados to the forests of British Guiana and on to Trinidad, to the dangerous river and the open sea. Only once she knows their stories can she rest. Only then can she finally find home.'Eleanor Shearer is a remarkable writer and brings this story of a mother's courage to the page with compassion, tenderness and pitch-perfect prose' NATASHA LESTER 'Eleanor Shearer bursts onto the literary scene with...an extraordinary odyssey of pain, love, and homecoming... A haunting and powerful debut' KATE QUINN 'An immersive and spellbinding debut reminding us that the human spirit will always reach for freedom' CHERYL A. HEAD

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