Balm - Hardcover

"Full of love and loss, meaning and mystery, BALM draws you into a world in tumultuous transition. Hold on tight as Dolen Perkins-Valdez weaves a story you have not heard before; one which you will find impossible to forget. "--Pearl Cleage, author of THINGS I SHOULD HAVE TOLD MY DAUGHTER: LIES, LESSONS AND LOVE AFFAIRS

"In BALM, Dolen Perkins-Valdez effectively reveals the emotional injury suffered by everyone following the Civil War. All of the characters came alive and I cared for them deeply. That, to me, is the best kind of book."--Kathleen Grissom, author of THE KITCHEN HOUSE

"Dolen Perkins-Valdez is an ambitious writer who looks to the past with a calm gaze and a sympathetic heart. In her new novel BALM, as in her startling debut novel WENCH, the complexity of her characters and visual power of her prose make for riveting reading."--Valerie Martin, author of THE GHOST OF THE MARY CELESTE

"Fiercely creative and exquisitely rendered...In sweeping prose, Perkins-Valdez transports you to Chicago after the Civil War, with Madge, a freeborn black woman, Sadie, a young white woman, and Hemp, a freedman looking for his wife. Their journeys of love, loss and reconciliation become your journeys. A must read."--Lalita Tademy, New York Times bestselling author of CANE RIVER and RED RIVER

"Perkins-Valdez deftly weaves her characters' longings with the gritty realities of American life after war's devastations...No sophomore slump is in evidence here. Readers who were captivated by Perkins-Valdez's first novel, "Wench, " will be intrigued by the post-Civil War lives of three Southern transplants to Chicago."--Library Journal

"A deeply moving, beautifully written novel told from the heart."--USA Today

From the first page, I fell under the spell of the magical BALM. Powerful characters and exquisite prose bring to life a tumultuous period of American history that still demands our attention With emotional depth and evocative detail, Dolen Perkins-Valdez has written a beautiful novel I will not soon forget. --Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of HOUSE GIRL"

Full of love and loss, meaning and mystery, BALM draws you into a world in tumultuous transition. Hold on tight as Dolen Perkins-Valdez weaves a story you have not heard before; one which you will find impossible to forget. --Pearl Cleage, author of THINGS I SHOULD HAVE TOLD MY DAUGHTER: LIES, LESSONS AND LOVE AFFAIRS"

In BALM, Dolen Perkins-Valdez effectively reveals the emotional injury suffered by everyone following the Civil War. All of the characters came alive and I cared for them deeply. That, to me, is the best kind of book. --Kathleen Grissom, author of THE KITCHEN HOUSE"

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is an ambitious writer who looks to the past with a calm gaze and a sympathetic heart. In her new novel BALM, as in her startling debut novel WENCH, the complexity of her characters and visual power of her prose make for riveting reading. --Valerie Martin, author of THE GHOST OF THE MARY CELESTE"