Reviews

History, Heartache, and Healing

The Color of My Heart is an emotional journey from beginning to end. The story begins in Africa on a slave ship bound for America. I felt every rise and fall of the ship, every disaster, every heartache, every triumph, and every tear that fell from my eyes as I read. It is a beautifully written story that everyone should read, and envision life through its’ pages. If people will look past the color of skin, and look at the color of their heart, there would be more peace and love in this world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who will step outside their comfort zone, and look deep inside at their own heart!

Karen S Haynes

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I read Guardian Spirit and loved it. I want to get a copy for everyone I know LOL! Haven’t read Color of My Heart yet, but mom told me all about it and as soon as she gets done, I can’t wait to start. I love your writing.

Tammy Marie

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Sarah, I finished The Color of My Heart last week. I can’t stop thinking about the book! I’ve only had time to read before bed and the book interfered with my sleep! I dreamed about the book, multiple times! One night I got up at 3:00 and read for an hour! What a wonderful thought provoking book! The Color of My Heart should be required reading for high school students; there is so much to learn from this book! I look forward to your next book, The River Keeper. Congratulations on an excellent book!

Jan Gilliam, Educator

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I came home intending to just “thumb through” your new book, but I started reading it, and literally could NOT put it down!!!! All the story lines were so intricately woven together, and the message was so fitting in times like these. This is one of the best books I have ever read, and I love that I know so many of the people and place mentioned in them. Thank you for following your heart to write such a wonderful book. I will be recommending it to everyone that I know.

Gala Caudill Calloway, Registered Nurse

Sarah, just finished your new book absolutely loved it…I highly recommend it…can’t wait for the river keeper…lol…thank you for the good reads.

Sharon Towe Mitchell

I absolutely could not put this down. Sarah is a wonderful storyteller with great attention to detail. The story of Laura will have you in it’s grip, and you will find that you cannot turn the pages quickly enough.

Donna Kennedy Jones

Well, Sarah, after several kleenex and one quart of caramel pretzel frozen yogurt, I have finished “The Color of My Heart”. I just couldn’t put it down. My heart has been touched. I won’t elaborate, so as not to give anything away, but it was a wonderful book. Thank you and keep on writing.

Susan Blackburn Walsh

Sarah, I just finished your delightful book yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. You write with so much heart! Keep those fingers and mind moving! I will anxiously await your next great story.

Alleta LaForce Johnson

“Wow” is the only thing I can say just having finished your book. It so spoke to my heart. How truly gifted you are. And what a message it is. You are definitely a disciple of God’s. God bless you in your future writings.

Bridget Henderson

I have known Sarah most of my life and when I found out that she had published her first book I couldn’t resist reading it. I was pleasantly surprised reading Guardian Spirit since it is a little different from my usual genre of book reading. With the release of The Color of My Heart, I knew I had to read it as well. This book held my interest from the very beginning. Sarah has such a way with words that it is so easy to visualize the characters and the locations. You can feel the emotions and conflict when Laura finds out about her birth mother and that her roots were from Africa. The journals written by Laura’s ancestors give her an insight to her history and what their lives were like. Sarah did such a wonderful job with the journals that you really thought you were reading someone’s journal.

I cannot imagine anyone reading this book not taking a good look at their own heart and evaluating how they think of and treat other people.

Janie Prevette

I have already read your book” The Color Of My Heart”. Could not put it down.. Good Book!!

Kay Jolly

I loved this book soooo much. I finished it up at worked today and tried not to cry. lol. I really think this would make a great movie

Lisa Grogan

Just finished “The Color of My Heart”. Loved it and hated to get to the end!!!! Hurry up and write another one!!!!!

Starr Burgess

I read Guardian Spirit first and just finished The Color of My Heart on Friday evening. A co-worker let me borrow them. On Saturday while downtown Mount Airy, I went to Pages Bookstore looking for more. I asked where the local author section was located and specifically for your books. There were none. The older woman that works there liked the brief synopsis I told her about your books and is interested in you contacting them about doing a book signing and having some shelved in the newly relocated store in the heart of downtown Mount Airy.? I plan to visit the Dobson Library to see if I can find anything there as well. Please contact Pages Bookstore. They need to have your work there for people to enjoy. It’s also a nice little coffee shop too. I look forward to reading anything else that you have published and am thankful to my friend for letting me borrow her copies. I’m not an avid reader, but had a hard time putting down your books until finished.

Susan Freeman

This was one of the best books I have ever read, and I read a lot.

Vickie Waddell

Laura Carter had a happily ever after life with a handsome husband and two beautiful teenage daughters. She had the wonderful adoptive parent’s that raised her as their own and with a strong belief in God. She knew nothing about her birth mother.

One day her fairy tale started falling apart when she received a letter from her birth family stating her birth mother was not well and needed Laura to come to her home. Her visit with her birth family revealed her roots were from Africa beginning with an educated African woman her small daughter that were kidnapped, shipped to America in the hull of a ship then sold into slavery.

At first Laura did not want to believe her mother and great-grandmother but the proof was in a set of journals written by women of color, all no doubt her ancestors. Out of concern for her the health and well being of her birth mother and one hundred year old great-grandmother she insists on staying with them as their caretaker. Even her daughters wanted to stay some to help and to learn more about their grandmother and great-grandmother.

This was news her husband did not want to accept. It made him sick that the blood running through the veins of his wife and children was tainted blood. Ever since he was a young boy he had been raised with an iron fist by his father and was forced to join a white supremacy group called the brethren. He did not approve of the groups tactics but feared his father’s anger if he did not go along with their madness. Her husband feared what the brethren were capable of , especially his father, if they found out about his wife’s roots and tainted blood.

Laura knew nothing of her husband’s dark secrets but suspect something evil brewing. The relationship with Laura and her birth family flourished, but the relationship with her husband was becoming more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. Laura puts her faith and trust in God for the healing of her family.

Would his father really harm Laura and the children? What horrors await?

When it comes to Laura’s father-in-law and the brethren I can’t help but remember the expression, “O, what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.” written by Sir Walter Scott.

The author has written about how the color of ones skin can create a variety of opinions and feeling within our culture. Add the element of the women ancestors journals was major plus in this story. It lets the reader see the hardships and heartfelt feelings of these women without actually seeing a color. You will see them as men, women and children with the very same hearts and minds being punished because of the color of their skin, no other reason.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Galatians 3:28-29

I highly recommend this book.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Ambassador-Emerald International for review. I was in no way compensated for this review. It is my own opinion.

Its Time to Read Mamaw

Loved, loved, loved the color of your heart!

Gaye L. Swaim

I have just finished “The Color of My Heart” by Sarah Martin Byrd. Having been a Nicholas Sparks follower, I never thought I would find someone who writes as well as he does. Sarah is right there with him, if not better. I could not put the book down, once I started reading it. I will admit too, that it made me look at myself deeper, & even though I know that God created us all equal, there has always been racial tension going on. Sarah, I salute you on a novel, that is good enough to be made into a movie some day. I am now a Sarah Martin Byrd follower!!!!! Can’t wait for book # 3, “The River Keeper”.

Glenda Royall

I just wanted to let you know, I have just finished reading “The Color of My Heart”. Oh how I loved your book. You are so gifted in writing. You took me for a beautiful walk and I could not put it down. I am so proud of you and even more proud to say you are my friend. GREAT JOB!!! ps: My Mom loved it as well and my Sissy is starting her walk this weekend.

Rhonda Parnell Blevins

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Your book “The Color of My Heart” touched my heart in so many ways. The way we view different races has been a part of so many of us because of the way we were raised. As you know I have a mixed grandchild and he has my heart. It still hurts when people look at us, judging us. We only see love. That’s all anyone should see . We are all one in the eyes of the Lord. You put into words a story of the way it should be and you did such a wonderful job.

Kay Martin