A “compelling, eloquently written” (San Francisco Chronicle) novel that reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’s Jim from the perspective of his wife, Sadie.

“Rawles covers territory Twain did not. . . . As heart-wrenching a personal history as any recorded in American literature.”—The New York Times Book Review

To help her granddaughter accept the risks of loving, Sadie Watson mines her memory for the tale of the unquenchable love of her life, Jim. Sadie’s Jim was an ambitious young slave and seer who, when faced with the prospect of being sold, escaped down the Mississippi with a white boy named Huck Finn. Sadie is suddenly left alone, worried about her children, reviled as a witch, punished for Jim’s escape, and convinced her husband is dead. But Sadie’s will and her love for Jim animate her life and see her through.

A nuanced critique of the great American novel that mirrors the true story of countless slave women, My Jim is a haunting and inspiring story about freedom, longing, and the remarkable endurance of love.