Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this audiobook

This is a beautifully written memoir of the author, talking about her life in 1957 when she was 4 years old and taken in and grown up by her grandmother showing the life of how things where then. In this book we are told the stories of people her grandmother new and also lessons she learns as well as hard things where back then.

"A man can give you the clap or gibe u the blues"

This made me laugh 😃 😀

I loved grandmother Lula she is awesome and a great woman.

I loved listening to this and I highly recommend it

UPDATE:
2024 listened to the new audiobook version, narrated by the author - added another hit to my heart with this book, and would give it far more stars than 5, if I could! (thank you NetGalley!)

2023 READ:
As a quilter, this title is what landed it on my TBR shelf. As a reader, it was the depth and breadth of the story Phyllis Biffle Elmore tells that kept it in my days, to read a little at a time over months this year. The combined wisdom, tragedy, courage and fierceness that comes back to us in all these chapters, and those within each memory. . . all caught up in the bits of clothes - worn over a long life and gathered in a bag, to be thoughtfully chosen for just the right spot in a quilt of souls for some particular person to treasure.

Quilting now is very different, boutique-y, arty, for walls and shows - a very different animal. My favorite quilts are the ones of scraps, bits from someone's stash to piece in a similarly thoughtful way, but still is so far removed from the true quilts of the past and the beauties made by Lula Horn.

Five pointed stars, quilted and bound up with gratitude for sharing this deeply rooted family tree and its many resilient leaves.

What a fantastic beautiful story. Phyllis gracefully walks us through her childhood, including every heart ache, and beautifully quilts a story of connections and interwoven stories. I love that the author narrates her own history, it adds so much of her personality. Inflections in Phyllis's voice make you feel like you're sitting with her as she's quilting her story.

Thank you Netgalley and Imagine for an audiobook arc of Quilt of Souls by Phyllis Biffle Elmore. Black women are not enough in our history books and there is a lot to learn from them. Phyllis left her family as a child to go live with her grandmother. Phyllis’s grandmother was known in her town for making quilts out of clothes of people they lost. Quilt of Souls is a beautifully written memoir.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for my honest rating and review.

4/5

This author has such a gift for storytelling. I feel like I truly got to know each of the people discussed in the book. I love the idea of a quilt of souls and what a special gift to be able to give. This really is a beautiful book about family, growing up, grieving, living, loving, and dying.