Jonathan Odell
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Also By Jonathan Odell                                              *See Reviews
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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The Healing, a Novel


“Odell has written one of those beautiful Southern tales with unforgettable characters. Required reading.”  --New York Post


Plantation mistress Amanda Satterfield’s intense grief over losing her daughter crosses the line into madness when she takes a newborn slave child as her own and names her Granada. Troubled by his wife’s disturbing mental state and concerned about a mysterious plague that is sweeping through the plantation’s slave population, Master Satterfield purchases Polly Shine, a slave woman known as a healer. But the master gets more than he bargained for when Polly’s sharp tongue and troubling predictions cause unrest throughout the plantation. Complicating matters further, Polly recognizes “the gift” in young Granada, and a domestic battle of wills ensues that raises tantalizing questions about who Polly Shine really is: a clever charlatan, a meddlesome witch, or a divine redeemer.

Filled with strong, vivid female characters and inspired by true-life events, Odell brilliantly brings the pre-Civil War South to life in this masterfully written novel, centered on a mysterious and charismatic healer readers won’t soon forget.


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Essays/Short Stories

Coming Home: A Gay Christian Speaks to Fundamentalists” 
(UTNE Reader, May-June 2010)

“The Watch”
Stories from the Blue Moon Café III (August 2004)

“Letting the Future in Through Story”
(A View from the Loft, December 2010)

“Passenger Trains and Other Forbidden Loves” 
(The Gertrude Journal, Fall 2010)

Just Call Me a Dinosaur
(a virtual children’s book, August 2010)



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    City Beautiful: 
Award-Winning Newspaper Column

In 2008-2009 Jonathan Odell penned a series of columns for his hometown newspaper in Laurel, Mississippi, based on the interviews he did while collecting background information for his novels. Dozens of people, black and white, shared their family lore concerning the county’s scandalous Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow past. 

In 2010 the Mississippi Press Association (MPA) awarded the column First Place for a Series of Stories. MPA judges singled out the series for special mention by offering an additional commendation: “Phenomenal! What a great idea and what great reading! Riveting from the start. By embracing all the controversy and giving space to all those voices, you’ve created a truly engrossing series for your readers. First by a huge margin!”

The Review of Jones County.





Hear an interview the author did with 93 year-old midwife, Mrs. Wille Turner.
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 Published by Maiden Lane Press