Kathleen Vellenga

Strangers in Our Midst Kathleen Vellenga

Two young women learning to survive in their own worlds are forced to confront even greater challenges when those worlds collide. Elisabeth, a passenger on the Mayflower, and Attitash, a young Wampanoag, discover differences in their core beliefs-but also a common humanity. As they learn to trust each other, their covert friendship forestalls starvation but can't overcome the distrust that's widespread in both cultures. In time accusations of witchcraft and betrayal threaten their friendship and the survival of both societies. Strangers in Our Midst reimagines a critical moment in our continent's history, remaining faithful to the historical record while avoiding both stereotypes and finger-pointing. It describes a time when love, trust, and understanding struggled to overcome cruelty, hardship, and deception in all societies-and it does so with great imagination.