I been in sorrow's kitchen and licked out all the pots : [electronic resource] a novel / by Susan Straight.

Originally published: Hyperion, 1992.

Growing up in the low country of South Carolina, big, blue-black Marietta would rather roam the marshes and fish than make baskets like most of the other women. When her mother dies, she takes a job in Charleston, returns home to have twin boys and heads back to Charleston when it's in the throes of the Civil Rights movement. Her twins are athletic, playing in the NHL, which leads her to California where she feels out of place. Maintaining her dignity and pride in her heritage, she takes her place as the "Aint Sister" of her generation, providing earthly advice to her children.