Home and Away

De: Rochelle Alers

Narrado por: Patricia R. Floyd

Spanning more than eighty years, from Memphis in the 1930s and 1940s to present-day Chicago, this sweeping novel draws on the turbulent history of the baseball’s Negro Leagues, as the great-granddaughter of a former player sets out to tell her family’s story—and redefine her own.

Harper Fleming is done with being passed over. As a journalist for a Chicago newspaper, she’s been refused a shot at the sportswriter position she longs for. And her on again/off again relationship is going nowhere. Leaving both behind, she heads to Nashville, Tennessee, where she plans to interview her widowed grandfather, Bernard Fleming, for a book about his father Kelton Fleming’s time in the Negro Baseball Leagues.

When Bernard reveals health issues within days of her arrival, Harper assumes responsibility for taking care of him. And when she mentions his father playing baseball in the Negro Leagues, Bernard gives her a trove of letters, journals, and clippings encompassing Kelton’s career. But some stories are too personal to print without dishonoring the memory of her great-grandmother. Instead, with Bernard’s approval, Harper begins weaving them into a novel, telling her great-grandfather’s story through the eyes of the fictional Moses Gilliam.

Chapters flow effortlessly as Harper breathes life into each memory. Particularly intense are Kelton’s recollections of the Green Book, an annual guidebook that helped African Americans navigate the segregated South. Negro Leagues teams relied on it as they traveled between games, hurrying out of unwelcoming towns before sundown to avoid the Klan.

As Harper delves into Kelton’s past, a piece of her own resurfaces in the form of Cheney, the childhood friend of her brothers’. And as Harper honors her great-grandfather’s life, she finds the inspiration to take her own in a bold new direction …

©2025 Rochelle Alers (P)2025 Recorded Books

Beautiful story and written with care for those young and old!

Thoughtful writing, vivid descriptions and there’s a reason I’m always drawn to the characters and depictions of once upon a time…as a reminder, the work isn’t over!

What a great story

I tore through this listen!! I loved the flow of the story and the storyline was so compelling. I like historical novels. I learned a lot about the negro leagues. It prompted me to watch to a documentary.

It has to be a part 2

please give us more. this was a wonderful read. at lease give us an ending to all of the characters