New Harmony

"We learn life best when troubles tear the world apart..."

Nestled in the beauty of New Harmony, South Carolina, shaped by the realities of the Jim Crow era and guided by deep-seated memories of the past, Margaret navigates the joys and challenges of being both "colored" and female. As a girl, she begins to understand the forces behind race and class in America; as a woman and mother, the unjust realities facing Southern Black families in the 1950s become the backdrop for losses that tear her life wide open.

The constraints of class and race are ever-present, but the murder of her son shatters her sense of safety and belonging. Margaret's experience of black motherhood in the face of unbearable loss is marked by both devastation and the slow, steadfast search for meaning. Yet even in her grief, she discovers hope in storytelling, community, and the quiet strength of a mother's vow never to forget.

Blending the emotional depth of literary historical fiction with the atmosphere of Southern historical fiction, New Harmony explores the bonds between an African American mother and daughter as they navigate grief and resilience in a changing world. Long-buried memories rise to the surface, revealing patterns of generational trauma and healing that shape their family's future.

Set on the cusp of the civil rights era, this novel probes the heart of memory, justice, and love. New Harmony: A Mother's Story of Love and Loss is Pettiway's debut novel and the first in a series of thematically linked fictional works that explore resilience, community, and the quest for love and acceptance.

Come home to New Harmony-where healing begins.