Under Cedar Shades spans five generations of American women of mixed heritage and their families as their struggle to endure displacement, color discrimination, famine, war and exploitation in 19th century America. The story begins with the forced removal of the Cherokees along the Trail of Tears in 1838 and continues as many intermingle with Welch, African, Portuguese, and Scots-Irish immigrants. Family secrets abound, as a modern-day descendant presses her grandmother for answers to who she is. But her grandmother harbors a terrible secret she can neither forget nor reveal.
Though Under Cedar Shades is a work of historical fiction, much of it is based on real persons, places and events. It is a compelling tale of endurance in the face of adversity, discrimination and injustice. It draws on the Cherokee belief in the sacred nature of the cedar, which never loses its branches, even in winter. The families in this saga endure despite hardships, like the cedar that survives through freezing rain, heavy snow, and winter wind. Other trees may lose their leaves, but not the cedar.
“A multigenerational saga, comparable in characterization and narrative skill (though not in size) to the work of James Michener. . . . A fascinating and entertaining piece of historical fiction.”
(Amazon.com six-star reader review)
“Underwood does a fine job humanizing the contradictions underpinning the inception of the United States – treaties and hypocrisy, land stolen at bayonet point, slavery for some and autonomy for others. . . . Her strengths lie in evoking broad washes of ancestral time punctuated by detailed scenes of domesticity. . . . Lively characters keep pages turning at a steady tick.”
(Kirkus Discovery Reviews)
ISBN13 (TP) 978-1-4363-3875-2
ISBN13 (HB) 978-1-4363-3876-9