Letters from Erastus

Field Notes on Grace

Letters from Erastus: Field Notes on Grace is a hybrid memoir woven around 22 extraordinary letters written by abolitionist Erastus Hopkins to his daughters in the 1850s and 60s in Northampton, Massachusetts. The letters reveal an unexpected sensitivity and attempt to provide firm but gentle guidance to a family coping with years of domestic tragedy. Buried for 150 years in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the letters become a bridge to Linc, a schizophrenic cousin in prison, and a guide for the author's understanding of her own life story and her old New England family. While this is a book full of engaging history, it is also a contemporary story, about a family of artists, the interplay of generations and values, and the ways we search for and find meaning as we move through the chapters of life.

©2015 Anne D. Emerson (P)2016 Anne D. Emerson