TO WALK ABOUT IN FREEDOM The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner

Narrator Karen Murray does a great job with the characters in this speculative look at the post-Civil-War experiences of Black people. She uses accents that suggest class for direct quotations, and her performance of the narrative is steady and well paced. The author employs the story of Priscilla Joyner, a Black girl born into a slave-holding household, to explore the trials and fates of those whose lives were changed so dramatically by emancipation. Because so much about her subjects is unknown, Emberton relies on phrases such as "perhaps" or "may have" to fill in some of the blanks. While this educated guesswork may bother some listeners, it should not detract from the overall quality of Emberton's research and Murray's performance. G.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2022]