It was an unremarkable day, it was a day filled with wonder. It was a time of unspeakable joy, it was a time of horror and fear. One moment the young princess was frolicking with her siblings, the next she was drowning in a gray, murky sea of oblivion. Nirvana was harshly usurped, replaced with an unparalleled, sinister emptiness. Thus is the setting for this brilliant expose of the capture of Anakata, a royal African maiden of a land long forgotten. The abduction of this child and all that echoes in its awareness unleashes a tale that will disturb places deep within your soul! Let the journey begin.
Anna of Corotoman is a literary jewel that is brilliantly executed by Barbara Frank. In her competent hands, the author coerces you aboard the ship that brings Anakata to this country and enables you to feel the pain and desperation of this child of thirteen and then allows you to revel in her amazing strength. You are exposed to vivid descriptions of the Carter family into whose world Anakata is placed, detailing how she becomes Anna and the wonderful people who become her mentors, spiritual advisors, protectors. It is through these profound characters, as well as Anna herself, that one is enthralled by the mystical aspects of this book. The symbol of greatness that adorned Anna’s body and the mesmerizing, haunting passages that respond to the acknowledgment of her predestination leaves one with the desire to seek smooth bodies of water for healing and comfort; to commune with the moon, pleading for guidance, direction, peace; to pray for the realization of a ‘Sukey’ in one’s life. As an added feature, the depictions of familiar landmarks, people, places and events in Virginia at the time of this epic are sweet gifts that become particularly uplifting if one is a native or an adoptee.
This was a life consumed with emptiness, it was a life fulfilled. This was a woman of courage, this was a woman of bondage. The concept of freedom is seldom challenged until it is no longer in existence. Many are bowed by this but Anna’s strength and free spirit never dwindled nor did her quest to implant these seeds in her offspring. This story of slavery is not extinct and we must allow this book to provoke intense thought processes lest we lose sight of our obligation to womankind…lest we forget.
BR012015