SWEET DREAMS, SARAH From Slavery to Inventor

Narrator Lisa Rene Pitts beautifully conveys this touching story about Sarah E. Good, who invented the cabinet bed in 1885. After moving to Chicago from the South, Good, who was African-American, realized her dreams of marriage, a family, and a job. Listeners will visit the family's furniture store and hear customers tell Good they want beds that take up little space--and the result is her cabinet bed. In addition to Pitts's warm delivery and the production's music, sound effects underscore Good's measuring, cutting, and sanding of her invention while the store's bell tinkles and customers' horses whinny. Eventually, her bed is approved for a patent, which Pitts explains. Learning that Good's business mysteriously closed after two years makes this a bittersweet listening experience. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2020]