The Last Dreamwalker

By Rita Woods

Book Overview

From Hurston/Wright Legacy Award-winning author Rita Woods, The Last Dreamwalker tells the story of two women, separated by nearly two centuries yet inextricably linked by the Gullah-Geechee Islands off the coast of South Carolina--and their connection to a mysterious and extraordinary gift passed from generation to generation.

In the wake of her mother's passing, Layla Hurley unexpectedly reconnects with her mother's sisters, women she hasn't been allowed to speak to, or of, in years.

Her aunts reveal to Layla that a Gullah-Geechee island off the shore of South Carolina now belongs to her. As Layla digs deeper into her mother's past and the mysterious island's history, she discovers that the terrifying nightmares that have plagued her throughout her life and tainted her relationship with her mother and all of her family, is actually a power passed down through generations of her Gullah ancestors. She is a Dreamwalker, able to inhabit the dreams of others--and to manipulate them.

As Layla uncovers increasingly dark secrets about her family's past, she finds herself thrust into the center of a potentially deadly, decades-old feud fought in the dark corridor of dreams.

The Last Dreamwalker is a gripping, contemporary read about power and agency; family and legacy; and the ways trauma, secrets, and magic take shape across generations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250805619
• ISBN13: 9781250805614
• Release Date: September 2022
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Great New Southern Gothic Story!

Review of The Last Dreamwalker by Rita Woods The Last Dreamwalker is a crackerjack of a novel. In it, you will find distinct elements of the Southern Gothic literary style, including magical realism. The Society of Midland Authors awarded Rita Woods the 2023 Award for Adult Fiction for The Last Dreamwalker, her second novel. It was well deserved. The story focuses on Layla, who has lost her mother. From her mother’s sisters—and her own dreams—she begins to discover family secrets going back to the last days of slavery on an island off the coast of South Carolina. Living then was an ancestor, Gemma, who had the ability to dreamwalk through others’ dreams, sometimes for the purpose of manipulating the sleeper. Layla learns not only that she herself has inherited this gift of dreamwalking, but that she is heir to that island—if she cares to fight for it, as Gemma had once done. The story’s pace, tension, characterization, and sense of mystery do not disappoint. Oh, as does a surprise or two along the way! Highly recommended. James Conroyd Martin, Author of The Poland Trilogy