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PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd: A 30-minute Chapter-by-Chapter Summary, Review & Analysis Inside this Instaread Summary: * Overview of the entire book * Introduction to the important people in the book * Summary and analysis of all the chapters in the book * Key Takeaways of the book * A Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Part One | November 1803-February 1805 Hetty Handful Grimké Hetty "Handful" Grimké is introduced as a slave yard girl who works for the John Grimké household. She is the daughter of Charlotte, seamstress for the household. The mistress of the Grimké household is a strict disciplinarian and is often cruel to the slaves she owns. Handful is then called into the house by the Mistress for an announcement that will change her life forever. Sarah Grimké Sarah Grimké is introduced as the daughter of John and Mary Grimké. It is her eleventh birthday and she is being promoted out of the nursery into her own bedroom. A flashback reveals that as a small child Sarah witnessed a slave being whipped. Seeing this event was so traumatic for Sarah that she developed a stuttering problem with her speech. Handful Sarah's mother ties purple ribbons around Handful's neck and then presents her as a birthday gift to Sarah to be her own personal handmaid. Sarah doesn't want to accept the slave stating she doesn't need a handmaid. Handful is so upset and scared that she ends up wetting herself in front of the party guests. Sarah's mother is upset by both Sarah's refusal of her birthday gift and Handful's accident. Sarah Sarah's mother forces Sarah to write notes of apology for her rudeness to all of the guests who attended her birthday party. Sarah gets the idea that, although her mother wouldn't let her return Handful, perhaps she can grant Handful her freedom. She sneaks down to her father's library to search his law books. She finds the correct wording to write a release to grant a slave freedom. She copies the words, fills in Handful's name, and signs her own name to the document. She then leaves the document on her father's desk. That night is the first time Sarah feels that she is destined for something important. She dreams of being a lawyer like her father. She cuts a silver button from her birthday dress and saves it as a way of marking the occasion. The button comes to represent this feeling she has about her destiny. When Sarah gets up in the morning, she finds the document torn in two on the floor in front of her bedroom door...

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