Two-Volume Book Edition Now in Print - My Great-Grandfather was Stonewall Jackson

May 9, 2013 - PRLog -- Volume 1: What happens to a young black boy in Depression stricken North Carolina when he learns he is the direct descendant of a Confederate legend?  Follow David Jonathan Sawyer on a fabulous journey down the Rose Hill Road, past sunny fields white with cotton, into his favorite swamp, where he learns his family's dark and tragic secret. A boy who would rather play with June bugs and get into mischief must confront the terrifying past – and the ominous present, where segregation is enforced by the same Klansmen who would dig his father a well, or sell him a cow.  To venture from the swamp with his burden is to see the world in a different light. Each challenge, insult, or danger adds to his strength and wisdom until, like his famous ancestor, he can prevail against impossible odds. Along the way he finds a simple truth: that all men should be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  A witty, warm, and wonderful book.

Volume 2: The author is convinced that the cruel hand only has David Jonathan Sawyer inherited a striking resemblance to his fabled ancestor, he has also inherited an unusual state of being that dogs his footsteps at every turn. Follow the rollicking misadventures of David Jonathan Sawyer in the segregated world of Fayetteville, North Carolina in the late forties and early fifties. Walk with him on a crooked path that leads out of his favorite swamp and into a world filled with poverty and racial attitudes. Watch as he maneuvers himself in and out of trouble on the streets of a sleepy Southern town. Read this racy account and determine for yourself if his strange behavior is a product of his own making. Or, is his every action orchestrated and directed by the tortured spirit of his famous ancestor, the indomitable "Stonewall Jackson?" Young David looks on in awe as the spirit of Stonewall Jackson takes control. Is there anything that he can do to stop the sometimes vindictive spirit of his ancestor? Or, does he glory in the knowledge that he is gifted with the same cunning and daring as the renowned hero of the old South? Find out what happens when he learns the truth.

Review:  Even as generations past, hatred lives on. "My Great Grandfather Was Stonewall Jackson: The Story of a Negro Boy Growing Up in the Segregated South" is an autobiographical novel from David Jonathan Sawyer who shares his journey of growing up in the deeply racist south, and how he took pride in his ancestral ties to the Confederate general as strength to help him through his toughest times. "My Great Grandfather Was Stonewall Jackson" is a strong pick to historical blends of memoir and novel, recommended. Also consider volume 2, "Stonewalling in the Shadow of a Legend", continuing his story.
Midwest Book Review

A reluctant author takes a scathing look at himself.  David Jonathan Sawyer, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, lives and writes in Baltimore, Maryland. His books are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.

Volume 1: "My Great-Grandfather was Stonewall Jackson The Story of a Negro Boy Growing Up in the Segregated South" (9781929882847, USA$19.00)

Volume 2: "My Great-Grandfather was Stonewall Jackson: Stonewalling in the Shadow of a Legend" (9781929882854, USA$19.00)