INTRODUCTION:

This is a book I’m bringing to you today because I think many of you will love this book! New Harmony by Leon E. Pettiway is a book I’ve added to my personal tbr stack.

SYNOPSIS:

In the small Southern town of New Harmony, Margaret’s life is woven tightly into the rhythms of family, church, and community. The Jim Crow South forms the backdrop of her childhood and adulthood, shaping the choices available to her and the boundaries she must navigate. Yet within those constraints, she builds a life rooted in love and devotion.

After the murder of her son, Margaret’s faith and resilience are pushed to their limits. The novel traces her inward journey through grief, revealing how memory, storytelling, and communal bonds offer fragile but real paths toward healing. Thoughtful and emotionally grounded, this work of historical fiction reflects on the ways history lingers in families and how survival often depends on collective strength.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Leon E. Pettiway, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, Bloomington, where his scholarship focused on race, environment, and criminal justice in urban America. Over the course of his academic career, he examined how structural inequality shapes lived experience and social outcomes. In later years, his work expanded to explore how Eastern and Western philosophical traditions might inform conversations about justice and morality. A fully ordained Buddhist monk in the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, he now devotes his time to spiritual practice, teaching, and writing. New Harmony: A Mother’s Story of Love and Loss is his debut novel.  You can learn more on his website and follow him on Instagram.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3NN680i

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/244474540-new-harmony