Searching for Bertha is an unpublished creative non-fiction narrative  that chronicles my  genealogical search for my grandmother, Bertha Metoyer, who was born in the Cane River area of Louisiana. Bertha died unexpectedly when  my mother was ten years old. 

Because of this death, I never knew my grandmother and had no link to her past. This void, ever present in my life, is the reason I set out on a journey to discover my grandmother’s roots and find her missing link. Bit-by-bit this journey began to unravel a unique past—a past I never knew I had. 

Written in my voice, the manuscript explores the personal lives of seven generations of a unique “Creole” family. Carefully documented, it uncovers the history of both French and African ancestors and the rise and fall of the wealthy multiracial “Creole” dynasty they created in rural Louisiana in the nineteenth century.  


Learn more about Searching for Bertha: My Cane River Odyssey.