At age four, Phyllis Biffle Elmore was brought from her home in Detroit to the tiny town of Livingston, Alabama, to be raised by her grandmother, Lula Horn. Lonely and confused, she felt utterly abandoned until Grandma Lula enveloped her in all-encompassing love and a beautiful quilt. Phyllis listened intently to Lula’s epic stories of folks who had passed on and watched as her grandmother turned their clothing into breathtaking “quilts of souls” for their families.
Grandma Lula’s generosity of spirit, strong will, and creative soul animate every page of this marvelous memoir, which, like her quilts, paints portraits of extraordinary black women born before and after the Civil War—enslaved people, laundresses, storytellers, healers, and quilters whose stories have gone untold until now. Weaving back and forth in time, Phyllis stitches together true tales of racism, sexism, and colorism, but also strength and pride, creating a multigenerational patchwork honoring her family and ancestors. With significant history and mesmerizing storytelling, Quilt of Souls transforms oral tradition into a beautifully written document, powerfully presented and preserved for posterity.
Photo credit: Cecilia Hambrick-Mariaca
PHYLLIS BIFFLE ELMORE is a retired veteran of the United States Air Force and United States Army whose civilian career has included working as a counselor for incarcerated youth, survivors of domestic violence, and people suffering from alcohol and substance abuse. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a master’s certificate in creative writing from the University of Denver.
Phyllis lives in Florida with her husband, Reginald Elmore, and has seven granddaughters who are the love of her life.
PRAISE
“Like the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who create masterpieces from cast-off fabrics, Phyllis Biffle-Elmore in Quilt of Souls: A Memoir uses snippets of history and fragments of memories to craft a narrative that is a powerful and poignant read.”
— Jessica B. Harris
New York Times Bestselling author of High on the Hog
“Quilt of Souls reminds me of Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. The moving tales of hardship, kindness and the unconditional love of family and neighbor can’t help but touch the reader's heart in Biffle-Elmore’s memories of life with her extraordinary grandmother. I can’t wait to recommend Quilt of Souls to my own book club.”
— Diane Chamberlain
New York Times Bestselling author of The Silent Sister and The Last House on the Street