Mustard Seed

By: Laila Ibrahim

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

The bestselling author of Yellow Crocus returns with a haunting and tender story of three women returning to the plantation they once called home.

Oberlin, Ohio, 1868. Lisbeth Johnson was born into privilege in the antebellum South. Jordan Freedman was born a slave to Mattie, Lisbeth's beloved nurse. The women have an unlikely bond deeper than friendship. Three years after the Civil War, Lisbeth and Mattie are tending their homes and families while Jordan, an aspiring suffragette, teaches at an integrated school.

When Lisbeth discovers that her father is dying, she's summoned back to the Virginia plantation where she grew up. There she must face the Confederate family she betrayed by marrying an abolitionist. Jordan and Mattie return to Fair Oaks, too, to save the family they left behind, who still toil in oppression. For Lisbeth, it's a time for reconciliation. For Jordan and Mattie, it's time for liberation.

As the Johnsons and Freedmans confront the injustice that binds them, as well as the bitterness and violence that seethes at its heart, the women must find the courage to free their families - and themselves - from the past.

©2017 Laila Ibrahim (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Part TWO

Couldn't stop listening to this! My dog got extra long walks this week so I could finish it. What a roller-coaster of emotion.
It's the second part of the story of Mattie (a slave) and Lisbeth (the white daughter of a wealthy plantation owner) that began in Yellow Crocus. Make SURE to read that book first or you won't be able to truly appreciate this one.
I have listened to other books narrated by Bahni Turpin and she nails it every time. I don't know how, as an African-American, she can bear to constantly read books about the evil that was slavery, but she certainly brings the characters to life!
The story of Mattie's and Lisbeth's families is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting. I've read other books before that took place in the slave era - what's different about this one is that it portrays the types of struggles and challenges that both black and white families would have faced in the aftermath of the civil war. As a Canadian, I had never learned much about that, or given it much thought before. The Confederacy lost - but that didn't mean the wealthy white property owners just accepted their defeat. The cruelty continued, just in new creative ways... I couldn't sleep last night, thinking about how awful it must have been - both for the blacks who were supposedly 'free' but really weren't, and for whites who took the Union side and faced wrath and shunning from their families and communities.
I'm hoping there will be a Part 3, since the ending leaves a lot open to wonder what will happen next. But I won't say more about that for fear of giving too much away,

Outstanding *****

What a treat to return to the folks from Yellow Crocus, again I experienced so many emotions listening to this book! Not always pleasant, sometimes I was just so angry! The narration was absolutely excellent as was the story. I could hardly put it down. Definitely a must read!!! I’ll continue to look for additional books from the author and narrator. Amazing!

Touching Story

Being from the South, I am careful reading books involving the War Between the States. I liked the reviews on this book. I was delighted that it represented both sides in a positive manner as well as showing the angry remnants of the War.

Excellent historical fiction

As a novel, this book was not as spellbinding as the prequel Yellow Crocus. However, this book was full of historical facts which was perfect for a history buff like me. And no, it does not describe a glorious portion of our history, but it is the truth and should not be hidden or diluted. The reader was excellent, especially with her authentic accents and pronunciation.

Post Civil War Virginia and Ohio

A faith filled story of risk and hope . . . and the GOOD that can and will grow when you feed the right spirit within. As a southerner, my heart broke for the pain and wrong suffered by these precious families. None of my family was ever involved in slavery and I've never known anyone personally who was. I'm thankful for brave individuals, like Lisbeth who chose RIGHT over rhetoric. I'm thankful for a body of Christ that embraces all of God's children. And I am very appreciative of writers like Laila Ibrahim who writes books of compassion, truth and enlightenment for us all.

Some stories shouldn't have a sequel.

The first book 'Yellow Crocus' was amazing. I was expecting this book to also be action packed. It was just 'blah'. Turpin always does a great job at performances but this wasn't her best. Sophie had a lisp at the beginning of the book and someone how Turpin didn't pronounce words with the lisp in the middle, and at the end, Sophie all of a sudden had the lisp again. There are some books that shouldn't be made into a sequel.

Good audio read.

Enjoyed this story about strong caring courageous people. Readers were good putting life into story

Yellow Crocus Pt 2

This was a great way to share the untold parts of reconstruction. enjoyed the storyline.

New view of the South post Civil War

The author was a great story teller, covering the events in Virginia after the War. I saw threw the eyes of the southerners the devastation of the war. Also it showed how the practice of Slavery did not really end in the minds of so many. They found ways around the law to continue its use by corruption of the local officials. It was also through a woman’s eyes which I enjoyed, great read!

Boring and sappy

I read the first book, Yellow Crocuses, and really enjoyed it. This book was childish, flat, and uninteresting in comparison.

Enjoyed this book especially the performance

I bought this book because I enjoyed the performance of Bahni Turpin on Yellow Crocus. Enjoyed this book. A story of coincidences which shed a light on the post slavery world of the South. How the North failed the Southern blacks by not enjoining their full freedoms. How the inability of the former slave owners to accept the new reality set the stage for Jim Crow South. Stories of the displaced African Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War are few. This help us to understand how black families fought to be reunified. We see the cost of war on both sides. See the genesis of the prison industrial complex that criminalise black men without cause with false accusations. How somethings have not changed even in the 21st century. We come to understand how slavery has define modern day USA even in 2021

The mustard seed

Great narrator. Enjoyed the story after reading the last book it was good to hear how the characters developed and progressed.

Lovely book and narration

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The second book by this author. Really well written and the narration was perfect.

Beautifully written

I loved the Yellow Crocus and I do love this part too. It is surprising, how an author can combine hope, love, family connections and the horrors of slavery in one book. The book is hartfelt but also educational - especially for people like me, who live in a northern country in Europe, where we did not have slavery of the same sort.

Following on the lives of Maddie and Lisbeth

The pace of the book is steady, slow but heartfelt and skillful. It's complex in emotions, context and societal issues but paced so it is easier to digest.

I love that the book follows on from the first, with the lives of Maddie and Lisbeth. We see in equal proportions the issues and tumult post civil war USA in the Southern and bordering states from Lisbeth's white privileged perspective and Maddie's perspective as a newly 'freed' black woman (in the southern states).

A lot is explored. The women in this book are the heroes. Their strength, stamina and courage is really exposed in the in the face of the lack of support and status in society. Despite this they try to protect their children, find their estranged family and rescue those that are wrongfully detained. They are put in unimaginably traumatic situations, but they rise and continue. The racial issues for both black women, men and children in the post civil war south are explored. The author does a good job of bringing multiple issues to the front and allowing us to really feel the emotions and traumatic side effects of racial injustices in an evocative way through the characters we grow to love, and the plot. It touches your heart.

I think one of the main things this book makes us think about is what did it really mean to be a free black individual soon after the civil war? There was no real support to reunite families divided by enslavement. There was no institutionalised educational nor socioeconomic support for the freed in the southern states after the war. In many cases the structure of master and slave in the lives of the newly freed continued because of the lack of support, and many continued to be trapped.

This audiobook was a beautiful sad and uplifting listen, which I recommend. Again Bahni Turpin does a beautiful job of bringing the emotions and characters to life.

Loved It

Beautiful written story. Beautifully narrated. Second in the series. Can’t wait to start the next.

I continue to really enjoy this ongoing story

The first in tempos series really caught my attention & this second part contours the harrowing story of slavery, whilst also showing the hope of the post-slavery era.
I’m very much looking forward to listening to the third book.

Amazing

This is a fantastic second book. could not stop listening to it. hope you enjoy

loved it as much as the previous book !

It was great to have a follow up to Matty and Elizabeth's story. Enjoyed getting to know their children and seeing the affect the difference had made following the war.
Narration brilliant. if you enjoyed the first book I highly recommend this follow up.

Wonderful sequel to Yellow crocus

This beautiful book follows on beautifully from Yellow cocus. You could read it as a stand alone book but personally I think it’s best read in order.

The characters are full rich and powerfully embodied, even the ones you don’t like.
This book picks up in the post slavery and abolition times, but things haven’t changed much down south. Elizabeth and Matthew have a new life in Ohio, but circumstances have her visiting her family and they and their friends are still as despicable as ever.

Bahni Turpin reads this with her gentle and soft accent, personally I do not like an American accent, however Bahni pours herself into your ears for a rich enjoyable listen.

Thank you and I highly recommend.