In Louisiana within sight of the Mississippi River, there is Belle Vie. When I began to walk within the old plantation house, I thought 'if these walls could talk.' After all, Belle Vie knew all the secrets of the Clancy family and the families of the slaves.Good and bad deeds had taken place there. There were bones on the property to prove it. Words had been spoken there. Some words were lies, and some words were true. Attica Locke's period in American History is the Civil War and the aftermath of the war to the present time. "Most black folks with roots in Louisiana could trace their people back before the war, when slaves had built the state's sugar..."Always, there were secrets. Whoever grew curious to look for the answers to the secrets didn't live to tell the truth. For example, Inez Avalo, a migrant worker, who meant no harm to any one, but brought horrible harm to herself. This is not just a deep, dark mystery. It's about a place with a historical story to tell. For example, the cutting season is harvest time on the plantation. Leave it to me I didn't think of that as the meaning of the title until one night the meaning became clear within a few sentences in the book, THE CUTTING SEASON."The cutting season, the harvest, is late fall, and goes until the first frost. It's been that ways for hundreds of years." As I read Clancy's bright idea for Belle Vie my thoughts turned to the importance of maintaining history at whatever cost. Not allowing greed to sway the mind from the importance of keeping alive what our ancestors have built and died for during wars and aftermaths of wars. Merging with another business just to make more money is so shallow and shortsighted when it comes to keeping the meaning of our lives alive in architecture, legends, etc."Caren paused over the name. She thought by now she'd heard all the stories, the legends and tall tales. But she had never heard....."Our History is a part of ourselves. Just like our blood flows through us, times of long ago flow through us, our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. More money is not important. Leaving bridges to our past is what will build confidence within us.After all the plantations have a deep desire to tell the stories in their way. If I listen, this is what will come through the leaves and twigs."The plantation was a chorus of whispered voices. The wind in the tree leaves, the wind in her hair, and the long, green fingers...."atticalocke