Minnette Coleman

The Tree Minnette Coleman

Her entire life Epsie has heard whispers about the Tree. When she can longer tolerate her own devastation and her friends' suffering, she leaves in the night, knowing that her only chance for salvation is the Tree, the Underground Railroad, and the Quakers that man it. If a running-away can reach the Tree's safety, he or she can escape the dangerous slave patrols.

The legend of the Tree circulating throughout the slave community is one that few dare speak of. In hushed voices they whisper that no slave can be harmed near it or hung from its branches.

A harrowing historical fiction, Epsie's journey from slave to free woman reveals the lengths one has to traverse when the goal is freedom.