Suzette D. Harrison is bringing recognition to another hidden figure from our history. I recently spoke with her about With Her Baby on Her Back.
Tell me about your latest book.
With Her Baby on Her Back is a dual timeline exploring themes of freedom, family, and female empowerment. Equally rich is the fact that my historical heroine, Zinnie, is inspired by a real person, Bridget “Biddy” Mason (1818–1891). Like Miss Biddy, Zinnie is an enslaved woman forced to walk thousands of miles from the southern U.S. to “out west” when her enslavers migrate for their religious freedom. It’s a harrowing journey made even more so by the fact that Zinnie has three small children under the age of ten. Her fortitude and endurance greatly impact her family, even generations later when we meet the contemporary heroine, Lynette Stanford—a single mother navigating life with an eleven-year-old son who is neurodivergent. This is a story of Black women rising despite the vagaries of life and lovingly uplifting others in the process.
I wrote this story in a migratory time in my own life. I recently relocated from “out west” to down south. The irony wasn’t lost on me that ours was a geographical flip-flop. Mine was a reverse of Zinnie’s journey. I remember driving across the country trying to imagine what it was like for Zinnie (and Ms. Biddy) to traverse so many miles by foot. As I made my way from the west to the southern United States, I remember thinking unlike theirs, my voyage was of my own free will, voluntary. That knowledge was (and is) absolutely sobering, humbling, and empowering. It filled me with a certain gratitude and appreciation for the ancestors who did what they were demanded to while I have choice and freedom.
Why did you decide to write it?
My husband is a recently retired college professor. For nearly thirty years, he taught African American studies in the university system. He’s a gregarious human who loves to educate even when at home and “off the clock.” Imagine sitting in the kitchen and hearing the names and stories of people you didn’t read about in your primary education. That’s how I first learned of Bridget “Biddy” Mason.
“Have you ever heard of Biddy Mason?” Hubby questioned several years ago.
Of course…I hadn’t, even with my undergraduate degree in Black studies. Regrettably, Ms. Mason was never a lecture subject. After hearing my husband speak of Ms. Mason with great admiration multiple times over the years, I decided it was time to learn about her. And learn I did!
I found Ms. Biddy’s story fascinating. Intriguing. Still, several more years went by before I started feeling a familiar itch I often get when I’m being drawn in and led to write someone’s story. The more I learned about Ms. Biddy, the clearer I became that others needed to hear and know her story as well. She was yet another unsung heroine or hidden figure whom I wanted to bring forward through fiction. I felt a certain connection because her journey took her to California, my home state. It’s important to me to share the impact of Black lives on my native state and the west, as well as to show it wasn’t (and isn’t) a pure mecca of justice.
How did you come up with the book’s title?
The title was chosen by my publisher. I was pleased with it as I felt it encapsulated not only Zinnie’s journey, but the tenuousness nature of her voyage. It also speaks to this mother’s determination to protect her children even if her body was the vessel and conveyance of relocation.
What’s the nicest thing a reader has ever said to you?
Throughout my career as an author, I’ve been blessed to meet, connect with, and build beautiful relationships with amazing readers. Many have shared wonderful words or uplifting sentiments. Narrowing that down to one statement isn’t possible. What I can say is that supportive readers are the jewels and gems of my career. I truly appreciate them.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I wrote poetry from a very early age, had several pieces published in school journals, and actually thought it was something I might pursue professionally until life redirected me to fiction. I was in my early twenties when I experienced a life crisis that resulted in me re-reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for solace. The powerful impact that re-reading had on me changed my creative trajectory. It demonstrated the power of words in a way that left me saying, “I want to to do this. I want to help heal others through storytelling.” That’s how and when my gaze shifted from poetry to fiction.
What author would you love to meet?
If I could host a private soiree with authors (past or present), in attendance would be my favorite writer, Dianne McKinney-Whetstone, Bernice McFadden (author of Sugar, my favorite book), Dr. Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Gloria Naylor, Trice Hickman, J.D. Mason, and Beverly Jenkins. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the last two but still, I’d want them there. Now, if this soiree couldn’t happen and I was forced to only choose one, then I’d select Dianne McKinney-Whetstone, my favorite author of all time.
I’d also invite Guy Johnson (Standing at the Scratch Line) to thank him for teaching me how to write strong Black male characters.
What books have you read lately and loved?
I’m currently working my way through Iyanla Vanzant’s Spiritual Hygiene. I say working through because it’s not a leisurely read. It’s a intensive guide for divine alignment and inner cleansing.
I recently finished Revival Season by Monica West and The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. I enjoyed Revival Season. It felt like a story set in a historical context although it was contemporary. But baby, The Reformatory took me for a whole ride with its mystery, history, and chills. I could imagine it as a movie it was so wonderfully written and vivid.
What books are at the top of your to-be-read pile?
The Official We Do Not Care Club Handbook: A Hot-Mess Guide for Women in Perimenopause, Menopause, and Beyond Who Are Over It by Melani Sanders
With Love from Harlem by ReShonda Tate
A Promise of Forever by Sheryl Lister
The Book of Harlan by Bernice McFadden
What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on the next installment of the Generations series with my sister-writer-friend, Suzette Riddick. After that, I’ll dive into my next two dual timeline novels under contract with my publisher. I’ll also be attending my first writers’ retreat as a Kimbilio fellow in North Carolina this August.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
Thank you, Chandra, Black Fiction Addiction, and every reader, literary supporter, and platform that upholds Black literature and authors. You are immensely appreciated!
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