First Fiction Friday: Railroad of Courage

What: Railroad of Courage (Ronsdale Press, 2017)Who: Before taking on their role as authors, Dan Rubenstein was an auditor and geographer and Nancy Dyson an Early Childhood Educator. They began writing Railroad of Courage for their eight grandchildren who played an active role in developing the characters and plot. After the publication of Railroad of Courage, they thought their work with the novel was finished. But they soon realized that an integral and rewarding part of writing is engaging with their readers—both at bookstore readings and in correspondence. Visit www.rubenstein-dyson.com.Why you need to read this now: Railroad of Courage, by first-time Ottawa authors is a fast-paced adventure about a young girl’s escape from slavery. While researching the story, Dan called the Ontario Black History Society and said, “My wife and I are writing a book about the Underground Railroad but you should know we’re not black.” The administrator laughed and said, “Black history is Canadian history. We’re glad you’re telling children that history.”Set in 1854, Railroad of Courage­ is the story of a twelve-year-old girl, Rebecca, who was born into slavery on a plantation in South Carolina. She and her parents thought that Rebecca’s children, and their children, would be born into slavery, as they had been. But when Rebecca hears that Grower Brown plans to sell her father to another plantation down river, she declares that she will run away—with or without her mother and father. Her parents are fearful but they agree to flee. The runaways are led north by the famous Harriet Tubman, known by her code name as Moses. With courage and ingenuity, the runaways escape capture by patrollers, bounty hunters and federal marshals. Rebecca and her family hide in coffins, travel aboard a steamboat, pump handcars on a railway and cross the border into Canada in a horse-drawn sleigh.As Rebecca embarks on this journey, she also embarks on an inner, transformative journey. She learns what it means to be free and equal. Moses warns her that black people are not always welcome in Canada but reassures the runaways that they will have protection under Canadian law. Rebecca’s notion of equality is expanded when she meets Lucretia Mott, an early suffragette dedicated to equal rights for women, as well as the abolition of slavery. Rebecca comes to realize that people can be good, whatever the colour of their skin, and realizes that she can trust white Abolitionists.The fictional character, Rebecca, encounters many historical figures: Harriett Tubman, Priscilla Baltimore, Lucretia Mott and others. One unusual character is Dr. Alexander Milton Ross, a Canadian doctor and ornithologist known as the Birdman, who warns the runaways of danger with his bird calls as they hurry to catch a steamboat and make their way north.The story is not only an adventure in its own right but a compelling way for adults to engage young people in dialogue about Canada’s own black history and the roots of today’s racial tensions. In Railroad of Courage, Rebecca is a hero with moral imagination and the ability to envision an ethical and creative alternative to injustice. She is courageous and willing to risk her life for freedom.Rebecca reflects on her journey:“The good people on the Underground Railroad had helped me to freedom, but they had laid a weight on my shoulders, too, and I knew that, all my life, I would fight for justice for all people, black and white.”X plus Y:The escape from slavery in Railroad of Courage is as harrowing as Aminata Diallo’s odyssey in Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes, undertaken by a determined, brave girl like Dorothy Perkyns’ protagonist in Last Days in Africville.