Story of Freedom and Love

This is the first book I have read by Tara Johnson, and it has become my new favorite read this year. The story is powerful and moving, and I couldn’t put it down. Tara Johnson does an amazing job of showing the characters’ struggles and hopes, making you feel every moment with them.

Avalina is a woman who can’t speak, taken from her home in Ireland and sold as a slave to a cruel plantation owner in Barbados. Her past is full of pain, and she feels alone even though she lives on a beautiful island. She wishes to be free from her harsh overseer, but even more, she longs for a deeper kind of freedom.

Josiah Holland comes from a family that owns slaves in South Carolina. But when he visits Barbados, he sees the terrible cruelty that goes beyond his plantation. With help from a passionate abolitionist named Benjamin McGee, Josiah decides to fight against the very system he was born into.

When Avalina and Josiah’s paths cross, their connection could either destroy them or start a revolution.

Tara Johnson’s storytelling is captivating, and the characters feel real and relatable. If you enjoy historical fiction with deep, emotional themes, then this book is a good choice. I highly recommend it and can’t wait to read more from this author. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author and was not required to write a positive review.

To Speak His Name is on Tour with Celebrate Lit!

Author: Tara Johnson

Genre: Historical Romance

Release date: March 4, 2024

Avalina is a woman trapped in silence. Stolen from her home in Ireland and sold as a slave to a Barbados plantation owner, the trauma of her past has left her mute, wrapped in a prison of loneliness and isolation amid an island of beauty. Though she longs to be free from the cruelty of her overseer, her heart yearns for a greater freedom…something just beyond her grasp.

Josiah Holland has been born into a South Carolina slave-holding family but all it takes is one trip to the island of Barbados to open his eyes to the ugly cruelty that abounds beyond the confines of his plantation. With the aid of fiery abolitionist Benjamin McGee, Josiah forges a new future, fighting the very ideals he was once a part of.

When Avalina and Josiah’s lives entwine, will their spark engulf them in destruction, or ignite a revolution?

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About the Author

Tara Johnson is an author and speaker, and loves to write stories that help people break free from the lies they believe about themselves.

Tara’s debut novel Engraved on the Heart (Tyndale) earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and was a finalist in the Carol and Christy awards. Tara has been published by Tyndale House, Annie’s, and Guideposts. In addition to being published in a variety of digital and print magazines, she is a certified body language expert and has been on radio, television and podcasts. She is a history nerd, especially the Civil War, and adores making people laugh. She, her husband, and children live in Arkansas.

More from Tara

Barbados Sweet Bread Recipe

INGREDIENTS

³⁄₄cup brown sugar
¹⁄₃cup shortening (or coconut oil)
¹⁄₃cup butter
2cups flour
1pinch salt
2 ¹⁄₄cups grated coconut
¹⁄₄cup raisins, chopped
¹⁄₄cup dried cherries, chopped
1tablespoon grated nutmeg
1tablespoon almond extract
1 ¹⁄₃cups evaporated milk
3tablespoons water
1tablespoon butter (for pan)
2tablespoons turbinado sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350*F and lightly grease a bread pan. The original recipe calls for 2 bread pans, but the bread doesn’t rise at all so it bakes nicely in one pan.
In a mixer cream together the brown sugar, shortening and butter.
Add flour, salt, grated coconut, raisins, cherries, nutmeg and mix well.
Stir in almond extract, evaporated milk, and water, until a firm dough is formed. (You may need to add additional water.).
Split the dough evenly between the two pans, and use a knife to cut a diagonal criss-cross pattern on the top of each loaf. Sprinkle 1 tbsp turbinado sugar over the top of each loaf.
Bake for about 1 hour, until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean (Or a digital thermometer reads 190*F.) Cool completely in the pans before removing.

The Story Behind To Speak His Name

By Tara Johnson

Who doesn’t love a toe-curling romance? I confess, when I began writing my upcoming story To Speak His Name, romance was the farthest thing from my mind.

This novel was prompted by two unique nuggets. First, I have always been fascinated with how those who have never heard of Jesus come to a saving knowledge of Him. How does the Holy Spirit reveal such marvelous truths to a soul who knows nothing of the spiritual world?

I began meditating on Psalm 19: 1-3: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” At the same time, I picked up a small nonfiction book about the Irish slave trade, and what I learned was astonishing.

The Irish slave trade began when King James II sold 30,000 Irish prisoners as slaves to the New World. From 1641 to 1652, over 500,000 Irish were killed by the English and another 300,000 were sold as slaves. Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in one single decade. Families were ripped apart and 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and neighboring islands.

My imagination quickly took flight. I pictured a young Irish girl named Avalina, stolen away from her home, shipwrecked and found wandering on a sandy beach in Barbados.

Oh, one other thing…Avalina is mute.

She is taken in by a cruel man and forced to work as a slave on his plantation, surrounded by strange people in a strange world who are steeped in polytheism and superstition. The years pass and, with her voice locked away in silence, she wonders if there isn’t something more to life than mere existence.

Enter Josiah Holland.

I never conceived having the son of a slave trader as my hero, but once I wrote the first scene with Josiah, I knew he would be the one to set Avalina’s heart on a path toward freedom. Just as the famed hymnist and former slave trader John Newton found redemption in the arms of Jesus, so Josiah turns away from the world he knows to embrace a broken woman and an uncertain future.

Is Josiah perfect? No. He struggles to please his demanding family. He grapples with his motives and his stained past, yet he is beautifully vulnerable.

When I finished penning the final scene, it hit me: Josiah is a picture of Christ. He redeems Avalina and carries her from the Land of Darkness into a kingdom of Light. He shows her kindness and compassion when all others treat her with disdain. What a lovely picture of grace.