Author Deb Spera in conversation with Peter Bachmann, Flintridge Preparatory School Headmaster

A stunning tour de force following three fierce, unforgettable Southern women in the years leading up to the Great Depression

It’s 1924 South Carolina and the region is still recovering from the infamous boll weevil infestation that devastated the land and the economy. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters from starvation or die at the hands of an abusive husband. Retta is navigating a harsh world as a first-generation freed slave, still employed by the Coles, influential plantation proprietors who once owned her family. Annie is the matriarch of the Coles family and must come to terms with the terrible truth that has ripped her family apart.

These three women seemingly have nothing in common, yet as they unite to stand up to the terrible injustices that have long plagued the small town, they find strength in the bond that ties women together. Told in the pitch-perfect voices of Gertrude, Retta and Annie, Call Your Daughter Home is an audacious, timeless story about the power of family, deep-buried secrets and the ferocity of motherhood.

"A mesmerizing Southern tale, Call Your Daughter Home follows three women intertwined in struggle, unlikely friendship, and ultimately, redemption. Authentic, gripping, a page-turner, yet also a novel filled with language that begs to be savored. This book kept me up late and stayed with me long after I closed the final page." -Lisa Wingate, New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours

"Deb Spera is a master of voice, a master of deep-diving access to the roiling depths of human identity. These three women, in their fierce struggle for values and self, speak to those struggles in all of us, men and women both. Call Your Daughter Home is an exhilarating and important book."
- Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

"Deb Spera is an amazing talent, and a powerful female voice. She channels the women in this gripping novel - Gertrude, Oretta, and Annie - like someone who has lived inside them. I cannot recommend it strongly enough."
-Mark Bowden, New York Times and International bestselling author of Black Hawk Down

About the Author

Deb Spera was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and lives in Los Angeles. She owns her own television company, One-Two Punch Productions, and has executive produced such shows as Criminal Minds and Army Wives. Her work's been published in Sixfold, Garden and Gun, and L.A. Yoga Journal. Call Your Daughter Home is her first novel.