Forthcoming from Apprentice House Press:
In 1975, kindergartener Abernathy Gillum, who is white, scrapes out a living with his father in an old sharecroppers’ cabin in a rural North Carolina town when his mother leaves to chase her singing career—and escape her family’s legacy of bitterness and lost esteem. Fueled by his daddy’s thinking about race relations, Abernathy seizes the chance to befriend John-Michael Davidson, the Black boy who lives in the Big House across the pond—knowing little of the entwined history of his mother’s family and the Davidsons. In North Carolina’s early days of fully integrated public school, young Abernathy seeks a loving home amidst constant reminders of his family history.
When Abernathy’s father Ryle’s dependencies on his best friend and lover turn for the worse, Abernathy’s needs are beyond what kind neighbors and school can offer. In steps Aunt Cody, Ryle’s sister, who anchors her life in an integrated community center in the decade since she lost her fiancé in Viet Nam. Cody’s confidence builds as she takes on more responsibility for Abernathy, helping him navigate small town conventions of belonging and chosen family and seeking her own companionship through a deeper relationship with her boss.
CATCH AND RELEASE follows Abernathy’s journey to age thirteen, when his mother returns, takes him to Nashville, and he alone decides to whom and where he most belongs.