I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina 1865 (Dear America Series) by Joyce Hansen (Acceptable, 1997, HC, 208 pgs)

Used in acceptable condition: former library book with stamps/stickers; wear on cover and pages. ISBN 9780545935159

Patsy, an orphaned slave with a bad leg and a quiet nature, is considered slow by the Davis family. But Patsy's smart -- smart enough to learn to read and write on the sly. After the Civil War ends and slavery is abolished, Patsy believes Master Davis's promise to pay the former house slaves and to educate the slave children. But when the master ignores his promise to establish a school and the Freedmen's Bureau cannot provide a teacher, Patsy steps in to teach the students to read and write. Patsy's diary is filled with courage, conviction, and hope as she strives toward her freedom.