Like the women of Gees Bend, Alabama, who create masterpieces from cast-off fabrics, Phyllis Biffle-Elmore uses snippets of history and fragments of memories to craft a narrative that is a powerful and poignant read.
Jessica Harris, New York Times Bestselling author of High on the Hog.

Quilt of Souls

A Memoir

By: Phyllis Biffle Elmore

A multigenerational memoir that celebrates African American quilting, family, and honoring the past.

At age four, Phyllis Biffle Elmore was plucked off her front porch in Detroit and dropped on her grandmother Lula Horns doorstep in rural Alabama. Phyllis felt utterly abandoned until Grandma Lula showed her both all-encompassing love and her intricate Quilts of Souls. Phyllis listened intentlyto Lula’s epic stories of those who had passed on as she turned their clothing into breathtaking quilts for their families.

Grandma Lulas generosity of spirit, strong will, and creative soul animate every page and through the quilts, she paints portraits of extraordinary Black women born before and after the Civil War. They are enslaved people, laundresses, storytellers, healers, and quilters whose stories have gone untold until now.

Phyllis weaves back and forth through time, piecing together true tales of racism, sexism, and colorism, but also strength and pride, creating a multigenerational patchwork honoring her family and ancestors.From the lush visuals to the powerful history,Quilt of Soulsis oral tradition written and preserved for posterity.

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Downloadables

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Author & Illustrator

Phyllis Biffle Elmore, author

Phyllis Biffle Elmoreis an author, genealogist, and grandmother. A talented quilter and storyteller, she has been interviewed and appeared in media outlets including PBS,Midwest Book Review, andBritish Patchwork and Quilting.She grew up between Detroit and rural Alabama and currently lives in Florida with her husband.

Read more about Phyllis.

Awards & Honors

• A Library Journal Best Book of 2022

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

At four years old, Elmore was uprooted from her home in Detroit and sent to live with her grandparents in rural Alabama. Feeling abandoned, she slowly came out of her shell, coaxed by Grandma Lulas undying love and the stories her grandmother pieces together in quilts from the clothing of people who have diedwomen in the rural South before and after the Civil War, healers, teachers, laundresses, enslaved people, and others whose stories and lives have been hidden and often forgotten. Elmore connects the lives of the individuals throughout history in this work that highlights the impact of racism, sexism, and colorism on American history and in the lives of women like Lula. The authors personal connection makes this memoir a powerful one that sheds light on strength, perseverance, and pride in the day-to-day lives of Black women.

VERDICT A testament to her grandmother and the women who made an impact on her childhood, Elmores text is an ideal choice for readers interested in memoir and history, plus stories about Black women, feminism, and quilting.

Details

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-516-1

E-book
ISBN: 978-1-63289-243-0

Page count: 304
51/2x 81/4

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