The Bridal Wreath Bush

"The Bridal Wreath Bush," the new book from Alabama's preeminent storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham, is a testament to the powers of simplicity and of truth. It is only a 32-page book, and this included beautiful illustratrations by Gadsden artist John Solomon Sandridge. Although this may give it the look of a children's book, its story is as adult as it is powerful. More than 70 years ago, Windham says her father told her the story of why the family had a bridal wreath bush in its garden. It is a story of love, tragedy, closure and healing, involving a black farmer and former slave named Hiram, who asked Windham's banker father for a $25 loan. The loan was so the farmer could search for the wife he was separated from almost half a century before when his owner lost him in a poker game. This book shows us why Windham is one of the most renowned storytellers in the country. Like a champion swimmer, her literary strokes are simple and efficient rather than exagerated, and because of it, her narrative moves the story forward with all the more power. Nurtured by Windham's skill, "The Bridal Wreath Bush" blossoms into a creation of dazzling beauty. As our attention turns toward a new millennium, we can only be thankful that stories such as this one are being saved for those who will live it.