Yonder Come Day

Exploring the Collective Witness of the Formerly Enslaved

By: Jasmine L. Holmes

Narrated by: Lauren Angel

As our nation has experienced a renewal of reckoning with the reality of slavery in our past and the continued struggle for equality and liberation in the present, many previously untold stories have come to light. But not every story. Some histories remain shrouded, waiting for someone to uncover them and make them known. Incredibly, some of them have been hiding in plain sight for decades.

Yonder Come Day brings these hidden histories into the light in an unconventional yet powerful way. Drawing from the interviews of more than 3,000 formerly enslaved people from across the South collected in the 1930s, Jasmine L. Holmes creates a compelling "collective memoir" unlike anything you've heard. The story follows Little One, a composite character who guides the modern-day listener through the experience of slavery. As she grows from Little Bit to Lonely One to Lovely One to Grandmama, she exposes both harsh truths and an irrepressible spirit, helping us better understand the love, resilience, and faithfulness necessary to survive the evils of our nation's original sin.

Teachers, historians, and anyone doing the work of reconciliation will find that Yonder Come Day is the vital resource they didn't even know they were missing.

©2024 Jasmine L. Holmes (P)2024 eChristian

a work of art

I'm still unsure how the narrative story of Little One was woven so seamlessly into direct quotes from the WPA accounts, but it was a work of art. This book not only gave a first-person perspective of the life of a young girl who was enslaved to a grandmama's rememberings of those times, but made it educational and beautiful as well. The narrator's voicing of this book was exceptional, changing tenors and tones as quotes were read. It felt like reading an audiobook with several actors. Highly recommend the entire experience.

A treasure. Truly one of a kind.

This beautiful, creative, historical story-telling work by @jasminelholmes I'd magical. Tragic and gut-wrenching, but magically so. I listened, but I think it's likely just as much a treasure written! Do it!

This should be required reading

This book is a gift. History told in a compelling format, both satisfying a need for information and inspiring further curiosity about the subject matter.