Maine Author's Gripping Tale of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - A historical fiction writer from Maine has published a book designed to keep alive the memory of the atrocities faced by African Americans during slavery and the contributions of enslaved individuals to America's growth.

Peter D. Brown, who is greatly interested in social justice and has a strong enthusiasm for safeguarding history, authored "I Am Jayvyn," a novel of historical fiction set during the early 1700s.

Book Summary:

'I AM JAYVYN' is an engaging piece of historical fiction designed to bring attention to the true nature of the transatlantic slave trade and the significant contribution of enslaved individuals to America's growth.

cir. 1710: On a lovely morning filled with hope and potential, twelve-year-old Jayvyn's life is abruptly destroyed when English slave traders attack his quiet village. His father is murdered, he is torn away from his mother and younger sister, and his home is reduced to ashes. In a rapid sequence of events, Jayvyn survives the terrifying middle passage alone, arriving in Barbados, where he faces two years of 'seasoning' on a sugar plantation. His teenage growth takes place under the guidance of Andrew, another enslaved African, in conditions that are beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

Eventually, Jayvyn is sold once more and endures another dangerous sea journey to South Carolina, where he is put up for sale to the owner of an expanding rice farm. Jayvyn resides among a wide range of enslaved individuals in a setting where emotions like love, hatred, and cruelty are intertwined, as families are created and torn apart by the capricious decisions of masters who regard the enslaved as mere property. The history of the colony progresses while this determined group of African slaves adjusts to a constantly shifting landscape of oppression and control.

Throughout his life, Jayvyn develops a balanced view of human strengths and weaknesses—surpassing the limits of forgiveness—leaving readers with much to contemplate, presented in a disturbing story of hardship and anguish, yet also one of genuine faith and salvation, conveyed through the straightforward lens of history.

"I AM JAYVYN" is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and KOBO. Brown has also made efforts to ensure this book is accessible through local libraries, MILS, Mainecat, and other free lending options.

For additional details, visit Brown'swebsite.