Approaching racial inequality— particularly through a Euro-American lens— can be difficult and, if undertaken without tact or skill, at times even harmful. Sarah Sewell Wolters’ novel, Sassy Sonja: Bravo Atlanta, however, proves that civil-rights is a national matter spanning racial lines. The fight for human dignity in America has a storied past contingent on the alliance of all peoples and individuals— each with his or her own unique narrative— who overcame seemingly insurmountable struggles to speak out against wickedness so as to make a better world. Ms. Wolters’ inspiring tale of one woman’s coming-of-self in the changing South of the 1960’s reflects these ideals on a direct, personal level. Following Sonja Kent— a young woman who moves to Atlanta after the death of her abusive husband— the reader is brought into the world as it once was, seen through the eyes of our heroine, catalogued and described with poetic exactness, a life seemingly re-lived on the page, and wholly engrossing. Sonja’s journey is a captivating narrative that is relatable in the most human sphere. Ms. Wolters manages to craft a complex character through action and story, giving us a glimpse into one woman’s life while, at the same time, expressing the tides of a changing country and the journey of an entire people— and those who championed them. With grace and beauty, Sassy Sonja: Bravo Atlanta delivers on the promise of all great historical fiction— the present illuminated through a look at the past. Truly, I cannot recommend this book more highly.