{"product_id":"the-peach-seed-9781250872043","title":"The Peach Seed","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFletcher Dukes and Altovise Benson reunite after decades apart--and a mountain of secrets--in this debut exploring the repercussions of a single choice and how an enduring talisman challenges and holds a family together.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn a routine trip to the Piggly Wiggly in Albany, Georgia, widower Fletcher Dukes smells a familiar perfume, then sees a tall woman the color of papershell pecans with a strawberry birthmark on the nape of her neck. He knows immediately that she is his lost love, Altovise Benson. Their bond, built on county fairs, sit-ins, and marches, once seemed a sure and forever thing. But their marriage plans were disrupted when the police turned a peaceful protest violent. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBefore Altovise fled the South, Fletcher gave her a peach seed monkey with diamond eyes. As we learn via harrowing flashbacks, an enslaved ancestor on the coast of South Carolina carved the first peach seed, a talisman that, ever since, each father has gifted his son on his thirteenth birthday. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGiving one to Altovise initiated a break in tradition, irrevocably shaping the lives of generations of Dukeses. Recently, Fletcher has made do on his seven acres with his daughter Florida's check-ins, his drop biscuits, and his faithful dog. But as he begins to reckon with long-ago choices, he finds he isn't the only one burdened with unspoken truths. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn indelible portrait of a family, \u003ci\u003eThe Peach Seed\u003c\/i\u003e explores how kin pass down legacies of sorrow, joy, and strength. And it is a parable of how a glimmer of hope as small as a seed can ripple across generations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnita Gail Jones\u003c\/b\u003e is a visual artist and writer born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She is a Hedgebrook alumna, and a 2018-19 Affiliate Artist at The Headlands Center for the Arts. \u003ci\u003eThe Peach Seed\u003c\/i\u003e, her debut novel, was a Novella semi-finalist in a William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, and was selected as a 2021 Top Ten Finalist in the PEN\/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Holt Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50892470747410,"sku":"9781250872043","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_57aaa4f0-b98e-449f-80b3-e172facc9229.jpg?v=1771334597","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-peach-seed-9781250872043","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}