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First Presbyterian Church of Hilton Head Island, SC
Trouble the Water, the debut novel from Rebecca Dwight Bruff, is inspired by the larger-than-life true story of Robert Smalls, the first African American hero of the Civil War. On May 13, 1862, the enslaved Smalls commandeered the Confederate vessel The Planter in Charleston harbor, which he sailed to the Union blockade, securing freedom for his own family and the enslaved crew with him. Smalls served with distinction as Union captain of the Planter during the duration of the war and was later a U.S. Congressman representing his native lowcountry.
Join us on Sunday, January 29, at 6:30 p.m. for a conversation between Bruff and USC Beaufort distinguished professor of history emeritus Lawrence S. Rowland. Free and open to the public, this event will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Hilton Head Island (540 William Hilton Parkway) in partnership with the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Books by both authors will be available for sale and signing after the presentation.
Bruff fell in love with the story of Robert Smalls on her first visit to South Carolina. Captivated and inspired, Bruff left her job and moved across the country to research and write Trouble the Water. The novel navigates the rich tributaries of courage, betrayal, and redemption. “Rather than a biography,” notes Bruff, “I wanted to imagine the world in which he lived…. I’ve attempted to honor the perspectives of a few women and men, black and white, enslaved and free, while recognizing the historical and cultural distances to be bridged… The man changed countless lives. Including mine.”
Website: Facebook Event Page
Praise for TROUBLE THE WATER
“Debut author Rebecca Bruff has made her mark with this exceptional examination of family, freedom, and what it really means to fight for the light.”—Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials
“There are white stories and there are black stories. Rarely do we encounter a book that so beautifully weaves the two into an inspirational American story.”—Jonathan Odell, author of The Healing and Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League
About the author
Rebecca Dwight Bruff earned her bachelor’s degree in education (Texas A&M) and master and doctorate degrees in theology (Southern Methodist University). In 2017, she was a scholarship recipient for the prestigious Key West Literary Seminar. She volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort. She’s published non-fiction, plays a little tennis, travels when she can, and loves life in the lowcountry with her husband and an exuberant golden retriever. Learn more at https://rebeccabruff.com.
When it comes to the history of Beaufort County, Lawrence C. Rowland wrote the book on it–three of them, in fact. He is the co-author of essential three-volume History of Beaufort County, South Carolina and also a contributing writer to Our Prince of Scribes: Writers Remember Pat Conroy. Rowland is a distinguished professor emeritus of history at USC Beaufort and past president of the SC Historical Society.
