Join us for our next USO Colorado Virtual Book Club Series. The book we’ve selected is "The Indigo Girl" by Natasha Boyd. A synopsis and details about the book are copied below.
This program is open to any currently serving military service members as well as their spouses and partners – active duty, national guard, reservists, and coalition/allied forces are all welcome.
How to Participate:
Complete the Registration for the Program here.
Meeting Dates: (Please plan to attend all 4 meetings)
- April 27th, 2021, 7:30pm
- May 4th, 2021, 7:30pm
- May 11th, 2021, 7:30pm
- May 18th, 2021, 7:30pm
Upon registration you'll receive details for our first Zoom meeting. Join us as we get to know one another at our first meeting. After attending the first meeting, participants will receive their link to redeem on Kindle, and/or physical copies of the the book depending on their choice in the registration process.
Get Your Book
The USO will provide a Kindle version of the book or a physical copy of the book to everyone who attends our first meeting.
- All ebooks will be sent via email with a unique, free single-use link to download onto any device, including a phone, ipad/table, computer or Kindle. Instructions will be included with the link.
- All physical books will be ordered and shipped directly to the address you provide in your registration.
Join in Our Discussions
We'll divide the book into sections to discuss at each meeting. (The following three Tuesday evenings after the initial meeting) During those meetings, we’ll discuss what's happening in the story, catch up with one another, and touch on other related topics.
Additional details for this session's reading will be provided after the first meeting. Understanding that shipping physical copies may cut into reading time, the first section of reading will intentionally be shorter than the other three.
About the Book
The year is 1739. Eliza Lucas is sixteen years old when her father leaves her in charge of their family's three plantations in rural South Carolina and then proceeds to bleed the estates dry in pursuit of his military ambitions. Tensions with the British, and with the Spanish in Florida, just a short way down the coast, are rising, and slaves are starting to become restless. Her mother wants nothing more than for their South Carolina endeavor to fail so they can go back to England. Soon her family is in danger of losing everything.
Upon hearing how much the French pay for indigo dye, Eliza believes it's the key to their salvation. But everyone tells her it's impossible, and no one will share the secret to making it. Thwarted at nearly every turn, even by her own family, Eliza finds that her only allies are an aging horticulturalist, an older and married gentleman lawyer, and a slave with whom she strikes a dangerous deal: teach her the intricate thousand-year-old secret process of making indigo dye and in return--against the laws of the day--she will teach the slaves to read.
So begins an incredible story of love, dangerous and hidden friendships, ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice.
Based on historical documents, including Eliza's letters, this is a historical fiction account of how a teenage girl produced indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports out of South Carolina, an export that laid the foundation for the incredible wealth of several Southern families who still live on today. Although largely overlooked by historians, the accomplishments of Eliza Lucas influenced the course of US history. When she passed away in 1793, President George Washington served as a pallbearer at her funeral.
This book is set between 1739 and 1744, with romance, intrigue, forbidden friendships, and political and financial threats weaving together to form the story of a remarkable young woman whose actions were before their time: the story of the indigo girl.