Wade in the Water by Nyani Nkrumah

Wade in the Water
Nyani Nkrumah
Amistad
Hardcover, 320 pages

Author’s book tour of Mississippi begins Monday, September 11
By Emily Liner
Special to the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger
USA TODAY NETWORK

Write a book about Mississippi, and you may find yourself invited for a long visit.

That’s what happened to Washington, D.C.-based author Nyani Nkrumah when Amistad released her debut novel “Wade in the Water,” which is set in the fictional town of Ricksville, Mississippi. As her book rolled out to bookstores nationwide earlier this year, the Mississippi literary community took notice of its setting.

The interest in Nkrumah’s book led to the development of a statewide book tour from top to bottom over the course of the coming week, September 10-16.

The tour kicks off at Friendly City Books in Columbus on Monday at 5:30 p.m. From there, Nkrumah will visit Square Books in Oxford on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., Story Books in Cleveland on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Lemuria Books in Jackson on Thursday at 5 p.m. Finally, the tour wraps up on the Coast at Pass Christian Books on Saturday at 12 p.m.

The Mississippi Arts Commission’s Lauren Rhoades will serve as the moderator at several of the book tour events.

“I’m thrilled that I get a chance to talk with Dr. Nyani Nkrumah about her debut novel at some of my favorite bookstores across the state,” Rhoades said.

Likewise, Nkrumah is eager to make connections with Mississippi readers.

“I am most looking forward to meeting readers, answering their questions and engaging in dialogue. For me, that’s when it all comes together,” Nkrumah said. “It is fascinating how the words you create connect with people’s own personal experiences and how that influences their interpretation of the book and the story.”

“Wade in the Water” unfolds from the perspectives of two characters: Ella, a precocious but mistreated 11-year-old Black girl growing up in Ricksville in 1982, and Katherine, a white graduate student who comes to town to reckon with her family’s past. They become close despite the locals’ suspicions of the new arrival, raising racial issues in a community that has unsuccessfully tried to bury them.

“Books have a magical way of allowing us to approach uncomfortable questions with openness and curiosity, and ‘Wade in the Water’ is no exception,” Rhoades said. “Mississippians will find this book especially poignant for the ways it grapples with our state’s brutal history and our uncertain attempts at reconciliation.”

Indeed, it is no coincidence that Nkrumah locates Ricksville near the real city of Philadelphia, Miss., where Klan members murdered civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner in 1964. Nkrumah contextualizes this event in flashbacks throughout the book.

Nkrumah hopes that her book will help readers have cross-cultural conversations that break down barriers and build relationships.

“I have two kids in college, and navigating real friendships across this divide is something their generation is already doing better than previous generations, and yet at times it feels like three steps forward and one step back,” Nkrumah said.

To that end, Nkrumah’s book tour offers a unique opportunity for young people to get a free copy of her novel while supplies last. This book giveaway for high school, college and graduate students is sponsored by the Friendly City Books Community Connection, a special project of the CREATE Foundation.

While “Wade in the Water” covers heavy subjects like racial violence and child abuse, Nkrumah wants to convey through her character Ella that faith can provide comfort and strength.

“The final thing I hope readers take away is that there is always hope, even at our worst moments,” Nkrumah said.

“Wade in the Water” is currently available in hardcover, as an audiobook and as an e-book.

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Emily Liner is the founder and owner of Friendly City Books, an independent bookstore and press in Columbus, Mississippi. She is also the author of the children’s book Stretch Like Scarlet.