Richard Emmel

Run, Sally Run Richard Emmel

With historical accuracy, the book recreates Sally Hemings' environment and the challenges inherent in early America. The situation is much more complicated for the little slave girl named Sally because her three-quarters white status stems from a relationship that made her Martha Jefferson's, Tom's first wife, sister. The reader participates in Sally's thoughts, decisions, joys, and disappointments until she finally flees servitude in her old age. Although Sally is the main character, the life of Thomas Jefferson becomes transparent as well. Recent research backed by DNA analysis of Thomas Jefferson's relatives made writing this story possible. The book fleshes out the forgotten people not considered human emphasizing a significant slave treated like our third president's second wife.