The Spirit of Sweetgrass [Paperback]

Nicole Seitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2007

Essie Mae Laveau Jenkins is a 78-year-old sweetgrass basket weaver who sits on the side of Hwy. 17 in the company of her dead husband, Daddy Jim. Inspired by her Auntie Leona, Essie Mae finally discovers her calling in life and weaves powerful "love baskets," praying fervently over them to affect the lives of those who visit her roadside stand. When she's faced with losing her home and her stand and being put in a nursing home, Daddy Jim talks her into coming on up to Heaven to meet sweet Jesus-something she's always wanted to do. Once there, she reunites with Gullahs and African ancestors; but soon, her heavenly peace is disrupted, for she still has work to do. Now Essie Mae, who once felt powerless and invisible, must find the strength within her to keep her South Carolina family from falling apart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In an enjoyable debut novel, Seitz offers an interesting first-person narrative about the life (and seemingly, the afterlife) of an elderly Gullah-Creole basket weaver. By the side of Highway 17 in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina sits 78-year-old Essie Mae Laveau Jenkins, crafting baskets of sweetgrass and talking to her dead husband Daddy Jim. Relations are strained with her daughter Henrietta, who thinks Essie belongs in a retirement center. If Essie can’t pay $10,000 in back taxes to save her home, she may have no choice. More tensions: her grandson EJ wants to marry a white girl, Essie discovers that a handsome man she’s trying to find a girl for is gay, and her daughter carries a hidden secret. When Essie hopes she’ll die and go to heaven, the book shifts less successfully to the afterlife, where her Gullah-Creole ancestors surround her and she’s reunited with Daddy Jim. Together, they team up to return to Earth and battle two spirits conjured up by Henrietta’s voodoo that threatens to ruin an attempt to save the sweetgrass basket weaving culture. Although uneven after a strong start, the first-person narrative in heavy dialect is engaging and readers will enjoy the bits of Gullah culture and history salted throughout.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Integrity/Thomas Nelson (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591455065
• ISBN-13: 978-1591455066
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nicole Seitz is the author several novels - Beyond Molasses Creek, The Inheritance of Beauty, Saving Cicadas, A Hundred Years of Happiness, Trouble the Water, and The Spirit of Sweetgrass. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism, and also has a degree in Illustration from Savannah College of Art & Design. Her paintings are featured on the covers of her books. Visit her web site at www.nicoleseitz.com for more information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grab a Hammock and Glass of Sweet Tea., June 1, 2007

By 

Kelly Klepfer (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Spirit of Sweetgrass (Paperback)

"The Spirit of Sweetgrass" is a beautiful tribute to southern traditions and lifestyle as well as a disappearing art. The history and Gullah details in "Sweetgrass" makes it a must read for anyone fascinated with the culture of the Lowcountry.

Nicole Seitz writes beautifully, weaving and crafting, not unlike the baskets so diligently and painstakingly woven by her protagonist's loving fingers.

Those who expect a specific genre basket hook on which to hang "Sweetgrass" will find a touch of sweet romance with women's fiction depth, chock full of history and fantasy. "Sweetgrass" stretches beyond one genre and seeps into other categories. If forced to choose, I'd call it literary because of Nicole's style. I got caught up is Essie Mae's life from the beginning, and though there were a couple of chapters that dragged a bit for me, the end satisfied.

Jesus is mentioned throughout, but those who only read clear "how to be saved" Christian fiction aren't likely to feel comfortable reading "Sweetgrass." Nicole has managed to bust open the God box, maybe replacing it with a woven basket so He bursts out all over. Heaven sequences are thoughtful, speculative and may frustrate theologians. Serious jot and tittle Christian fiction readers may want to avoid reading "Sweetgrass," especially if they tend to read with a microscope. Voodoo and "ghosts" are tossed into the mix now and again, too.

If you love to ask God questions and like to ponder heaven, or if you curl up with lazy, literary fiction, quirky characters, cultural details and stories that wrap around your thoughts and your heart, I think you'll enjoy "Sweetgrass."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great story!, April 24, 2007

By 

J. Zaio (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Spirit of Sweetgrass (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters were so real and likeable. The storyline had great twists that made me want to keep reading. I'm going to recommend this book to all my friends...but I'm not going to loan out my copy...I'll want to read this one again and again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet book that inclues Gullah people's traditions, March 1, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spirit of Sweetgrass (Paperback)

At seventy-eight, Essie Mae Laveau has had her share of troubles. She buried her husband and has an ungrateful daughter, Henrietta. But now she's found her joy, weaving sweetgrass baskets. Her grandson EJ built her a stand on Highway 17 outside Charlotte, North Carolina to sell her wares. Alongside her in a pink plastic chair sits Daddy Jim, her late husband, encouraging and providing her company.

When Essie Mae recalls how to weave a love basket, she sets her sights on a young blonde and a boy she helped raise. Surely God would want these two to unite. At Jim's suggestion, she weaves a basket for herself and him. That'll get her to heaven sooner, she's sure.

As heaven's gates open for Essie Mae, she meets and greets those who went before--contemporaries as well as Jesus, African slaves and Gullahs. What a glorious place to be. But her connection with the earth isn't severed. She still has work to do. Her departure has left a family rift. She'll need to finish some business before she's released to celebrate.

Steeped in traditions of the Gullah people, Nicole Seitz gives readers a rich character in Essie Mae and much local flavor. Her depiction of heaven and the afterlife is heartwarming and unique.

Armchair Interviews says: A well-written inspirational read.