A Hudson Valley Reckoning

Rezensionen / Stimmen

An excavation of the carefully constructed cultural fiction that paints the North as an innocent bystander to America's original sin. Deeply moving.

(The Washington Post) While chasing down these little-known stories, Bruno examines her own intentions: "Was I looking for absolution?" Her answer: a calling drew her to the task-and good thing, too, for this is very well done. A strong, surprising addition to the history of slavery in America.

(Kirkus Reviews) A valiant, in-depth, and invaluable investigation.

(Booklist) A fascinating read and a valuable resource.

(WAMC Northeast Public Radio) Each of the thirteen chapters offers a lesson for family historians, making Ms. Bruno's book well worth the read. One need not have Dutch heritage or enslaver ancestors to benefit from her story. A Hudson Valley Reckoning is a probing, investigative, yet sensitive story in which she exhumes the long-buried bones of her enslaver ancestors. The 'reckoning' manifests itself in the acknowledgement of her family's slaveholding past, and this acknowledgement testifies to the healing power of uncovering our ancestors' stories.

(The NYG&B Record) Bruno's research methods are as honed as any historian's, and she tells the story in an engaging and conversational manner. The book is strongly recommended to all who love investigatory researching, an engrossing story, and Hudson Valley color in particular.

(The New Amsterdam History Center) Excellent.

(New York Almanack) An eye-opening, detailed and moving account of the seldom told story of Northern slavery, and their own families' histories.

(Here & Now (NPR, WBUR)) Bruno might have collected these facts into a stuffy academic tome, but this history is a fast-paced read, replete with vividly depicted portraits of hundreds of lives.

(Shelf Awareness) It took Bruno about a decade to discover the history of slavery in Ulster and Greene Counties... Through a Facebook group called I've Traced My Enslaved Ancestors and Their Owners, she connected with Eleanor Mire of Malden, Massachusetts, a descendant of the people Bruno's ancestors had enslaved.

(NYRB)