Book Review: The Hidden Light of Northern Fires

By Annell Gerson

Seeds are often planted in our thoughts at unexpected times. They grow silently, and then one day, there they are, front and center, no longer small and insignificant, but now giants, directing us toward our next endeavor.

As a young boy in the 70s, Daren Wang encountered such a seed when his family purchased an old farm in Town Line, New York. Remodeling began quickly, and a book dealer came to retrieve the many shelves of old books found in the barn. In the packing, the dealer showed Wang a copy of a diary, a womans diary, complete with beautiful handwriting, a broken clasp, old recipes and yellowed news clippings. It is revealed that Town Line, a small city outside Buffalo, is the only town north of the Mason Dixon line to secede from the Union, and Wangs familys newly purchased farm belonged to the family of Mary Willis. Mary Willis was part of the Underground Railroad, and the old barn, where the books were found, was where she hid slaves in the loft or a rear shed until it was thought safe enough for them to travel the fifteen miles to Canada.

As the founding executive director of the Decatur Book Festival, Wang has met quite a few authors and tried fervently to get one of them to tell the story of Mary Willis. Turns out the story of Town Line and Mary was meant for Wang to tell. The result is his debut novel, The Hidden Light of Northern Fires.

Though the novel is set during the Civil War, this is not a novel of military battles. Instead, its a powerful story of the battles of humanness fought in this consequential period of history. And it is Marys courage, heart, perseverance and enduring belief in equality that make this novel an unforgettable.

Daren Wang will appear at the Milton Library on December 12, 2017, from 6-7:30pm, as part of the North Atlanta Author Series Initiative, a collaborative effort sponsored by Bookmiser and
The Milton Library.