Swimming in Cotton
by Lawrence Deron Thomas

Which is stronger, the pain of the past or the resolve for the future?

Life is stacked against Seth, but that just makes Seth more determined. Seth and his parents are free from slavery but not from the dire consequences that stolen cotton will bring if it is discovered by their former slaveowner.

While wrestling with the trials and tribulations of growing up in the South, Seth devises numerous plans to get his people to the Promised Land to reach the future his parents and the other former slaves deserve. Stepping in to rescue a young girl in peril, during one of these schemes, Seth is plunged into an impossible situation. The consequences of the fallout will impact Seth into his adulthood. Choices are made. Life is lost. With the help of his friends, including his sole white friend, Seth must decide which path to take.

Will he get the chance at his own land? Will he triumph in love and in life? And will the next generation learn from Seth or be plunged into their own darkness? To navigate it all, Seth stands firm, resolved to preserve all he’s worked for. But is the cost too high?