Wow. This story lived in me and with me every day until I finished it. I was at work wondering how Essex was doing and I wondered how Pheby would survive the hell that she had been thrown into. Wow. Ms. Johnson’s ability to describe the sights and smells was phenomenal. She wasn’t heavy-handed with descriptors, yet it all seem very real and I could smell the good and the bad. What makes this book emotional for me is knowing that my ancestors really lived (and died) like the characters in this book. I am amazed at how well Ms. Johnson told this story without getting bogged down in the minutiae. Bravo! FIVE STARS for the complexity and depth of the life of “Yellow Wife”. Whew.