We expect great things from our authors, and they always deliver!

Trouble the Water by Rebecca Dwight Bruff with the Overall Best Books of 2020 Grand Prize Ribbon

Overall Grand Prize Winner for her wonderful book Trouble the Water, Rebecca Dwight Bruff’s work now comes to life on stage!

Trouble the Water follows the incredible Robert Smalls who was born enslaved. He liberated himself and others, served five terms in the US Congress, and introduced compulsory public education. He changed countless lives.

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His story – his life and legacy – is inspirational and aspirational. And mostly unknown.

Bruff reveals the true story of the life of Robert Smalls. Set in the Civil War era, we follow Smalls as he navigates through a life of enslavement, the dangers of war, and a desperate attempt at escape. Trouble the Water is a moving tale of slavery, perseverance, war, freedom, and love.

Rebecca Bruff earned her Bachelor’s degree in education (Texas A&M) and Master and Doctorate degrees in theology (Southern Methodist University). In 2017, she was a scholarship recipient for the prestigious Key West Literary Seminar. She volunteers at the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort, South Carolina. She’s published non-fiction, plays a little tennis, travels when she can, and loves life in the lowcountry with her husband and an exuberant golden retriever.

Her play opens at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum where it will run from July 9th – October 2nd. Freely Adapted by Ellen Geer and Directed by Gerald Rivers. If you’re in the area of Topanga, California during its run, we recommend checking it out!

If you can’t make it to the play, the book and audiobook is now available wherever books are sold! The audiobook, narrated by Director Gerald Rivers, is worth giving a listen!

We hope that, like us at Chanticleer, you will be moved by Robert Smalls’s courageous life of thoughtful, compassionate leadership

Why did Bruff write this story?

Nine years ago, when I lived in Texas, I visited the lowcountry. It was my first experience here, and it was brief, but we made time for a carriage tour through the historic district of Beaufort. And that’s when I heard a little bit of the story of a man named Robert Smalls. I’d never heard his name, and I’d never heard the story. But he intrigued me. His courage, and his heroism, and his contributions, and legacy intrigued me.

His story ignited my curiosity. Curiosity led to exploration, and exploration led to discovery, and I discovered how little I knew about our history. I discovered how little I understood about the experiences of enslaved people in our country. I discovered that some stories get amplified, while other stories get silenced.

Click here to read the rest on her website

Congratulations once more to Rebecca Dwight Bruff on her Overall Grand Prize Win, and we’re delighted to crow with you about this most recent accomplishment! We look forward to what’s next!

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“The must-read story of Robert Smalls. An Inspiring story of courage that we need today. It rings with heroic action along with thoughtfulness and sincerity that will keep you going until the end. A must read! Five Stars!”
– Chanticleer Book Reviews