What Passes as Love
What would you risk to be free?
On Disobedient femmes, I spoke with author Trisha R. Thomas about her latest book, What Passes as Love.
Set in antebellum Virginia, What Passes as Love tells the story of Dahlia Holt, a light-skinned black woman who works as a servant in the home of a large slave owner who is in fact her father, waiting on his daughters who are also her sisters.
Among other things Trisha Thomas talks about:
How she got started as a writer
Her nine book Nappily Book series, one of which was made into a Netflix movie.
The photograph of three sisters that lead her to write the novel
How love is similar but also different at present
How the past history of slavery in the U.S has continued at present.
Here are some highlights of the interview:
I found a picture of three little girls who were so beautiful. I read at the bottom and it said three emancipated slave sisters in 186. Who are these little girls? What have they been through? Who raised them?
We are all the summation of our memories and of our past events
I was propelled forward because I couldn’t keep ignoring everything that was going on, and how the parallels continue with, African Americans being treated as second class citizens”
Freedom has its own determination. What what will you give for that path? I wanted to focus on what we exchange in our determination to be somewhere else. What do give up in order to move forward?
This journey was hard. It was worth it. I’m stronger and I’m a better human being. That’s what I hope readers will come away with.
Listen to the full interview here:
