The Secrets of the Wisteria Vine

Sonnie Harper is a young girl growing up in rural south Georgia in the 1920s and 1930s. Her family had been dysfunctional for generations. Turmoil was significant in the generation before her. This was a time of great poverty for the farmers of this area due to the Depression and the biggest drought in history. As a toddler, Sonnie begins to hide under the wisteria vine from her mother. Later she invites her imaginary friend and then her black friend to share wisteria vine and her family secrets with them. As she becomes older and understands who God is, she prays and talks to God about her family secrets. Sometimes she goes to the wisteria just to sit and hide from what’s going on in the house. Some of the customs of that time are preserved in the book. There are stories of love, hate, loyalty, friendship, brutality, strength, racism, and religious beliefs. All of this is sprinkled with a little humor.