Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson takes readers back to the 1850’s and proves to be the perfect read to reflect on this Black History Month.   

The story follows a young woman named Pheby, born to her enslaved mother on a plantation in Virginia.  

However, unlike other slaves on the plantation, Pheby has learned how to read, write, and play the piano thanks to her close relationship with the master’s late sister.  

Pheby’s mother dreams that her daughter will see freedom one day soon. And through the early chapters of the book, readers will understand why she dreams so big and what sacrifices she has made for it.  

Now, Pheby is about to turn 18-years-old, the promised age of her freedom, and she falls in love with the stable boy.  

At the same time, her mother and the master go away on a business trip and the master’s wife loses her long-time house servant to an illness.  

This is where it starts.  

Pheby is forced to take her place and serve the master’s wife every day.  

Missus Delphina is rude, unforgiving, and hates Pheby deeply for no apparent reason. 

It is this ill-turn of events that sets Pheby’s life off in a completely different direction. Within the next few chapters, her life falls apart.  

Her lover has escaped the plantation. Her mother has returned with a fatal infection. The master who promised her freedom at 18 is nowhere to be seen.  

Just like that, Pheby must bury any hopes of her freedom alongside her dear mother.  

Pheby finds herself being shoved into a vehicle with orders from Missus Delphina and transported to a slave jail with a horrendous jailer. At the jail, she also finds out that she is pregnant with her lover’s baby.  

The rest of the story revolves around her love for her children. This is where the story starts – a mother, once again, who does everything to ensure freedom and safety for her children.  

This tale of unthinkable sacrifices is woven into the story alongside the chilling horrors of slavery. 

Readers will wonder how many people in the world went through this – grappling at any possibility of hope and always losing to unfair circumstances.  

The Yellow Wife echoes other stories told by other authors such as Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave.  

A story about hopelessness and brutality, these books serve as a reminder of a history that must not be repeated but must be remembered.  

Until the very end, we see Pheby’s hope shining in a pit of despair. Simply because she hopes for a better future for her children and the people she loves.  

She uses every skill she has and puts herself in harm’s way to pave the way for her children to escape.  

The ending will leave anyone feeling bittersweet because it shows us how the lives that were pushed into the depths of slavery will never be the same again.  

It is a reminder of how millions in the real world, like Pheby, lost everything to gain a glimpse of freedom.