You Kin Do It, Chile

YOU KIN DO IT, CHILE, (You Can Do It, Child) tells of an unusual and poignant relationship between a black, horse trainer in his eighties and a young blond girl growing up on a farm in Tennessee. At a period in history, still affected by resentments and injustices of the Civil War, Maxie and Uncle Sandy cement a bond of friendship that transcends all opinions and established mores of the time. Uncle Sandy, born a slave, rose above his status by educating himself, becoming a world acclaimed Arabian horse trainer and passing on a wisdom and honor to the small child who loved and admired him, which enabled her to succeed in subsequent traumas of adult life. Maxwell's observations and first hand experiences among both aristocrats and farmers, gleaned from ancestors who predated the Civil War, gives credence and color to this touching novel of homecoming. The stories of a southern farm before and during World War II continue to that "far off land," California, where Uncle Sandy accompanies sixty Arabian hosses under his care. Although never having left Tennessee, he joins the family in the monumental move, not wanting his "horses" to go without him. The emotions of him and Maxie are similar and terrifying, facing a lonely ranch life, far from Tennessee. Their deep love for each other reaches an emotional climax when she flies with him on his last trip home.