Coleman Hill: A Novel

Written by Kim Coleman Foote

Narrated by Bahni Turpin and Dion Graham

Coleman Hill is the exhilarating story of two American families whose fates become intertwined in the wake of the Great Migration. Braiding fact and fiction, it is a remarkable, character-rich tour de force exploring the ties that bind three generations. In 1916, Celia Coleman and Lucy Grimes flee the racism and poverty of their homes in the post–Civil War South for the “Promised Land” of the North. But soon they learn that even in Vauxhall, New Jersey, black women are mainly hired for domestic work, money is scarce, children don’t progress in school, and black men die young. Within a few short years, both women’s husbands are dead. Left to navigate this unwelcoming place alone, Celia and Lucy turn to one another for support in raising their children far from home. They become one another’s closest confidantes and, encouraged by their mothers’ friendship, their children’s lives become enmeshed as well. However, with this closeness comes complication. As the children grow into adolescence, two are caught in an impulsive act of impropriety, and Celia and Lucy find themselves at irreconcilable odds over who’s to blame. The ensuing fallout has dire consequences that reverberate through the next two generations of their families. A stunning biomythography—a word coined by the late great writer Audre Lorde—Coleman Hill draws from the author’s own family legend, historical record, and fervent imagination to create an unforgettable new history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zando
• Release date: Sep 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781666643879

Kim Coleman Foote

Kim Coleman Foote grew up in New Jersey in the family on which the novel is based. She is the George Bennett Fellow at Exeter, and the recipient of fellowships from the NEA, Fulbright Foundation, NYFA, Illinois Arts Council, and the Center for Fiction. She has been a resident at MacDowell, Yaddo, Bread Loaf, Hedgebrook, Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center and elsewhere. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Best American Short Stories 2022, Ecotone, The Rumpus, Prairie Schooner, The Missouri Review, Black Renaissance Noire, Obsidian, and many others.

Reviews for Coleman Hill

[CrystalForte · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great read… loved the family ties, secrets, drama, love lost, and just all over good story telling of it all. Southern roots embedded and beautifully done ❤️

[Sharon Traylor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a 3.5 for me. I would recommend this book there are a bunch of great things and some trams but not a lot.