By Peggy Arthur
Greetings!
This Rooted Read stretches forward in time but remains deeply anchored in the past. Unlike the previous books I’ve recommended, Parable of the Sower was written in 1993 and at the time, set in the future, 2024. But not the far-off, flying-cars kind of future. No, the world Octavia Butler imagines feels dangerously close shaped by environmental collapse, political instability, and a fraying social contract. T
The book is set in California; a place I’ve never called home. And yet, Butler’s vision gripped me. The way she details what could happen if we continue to ignore climate change and systemic inequality was breathtaking, unsettling, and deeply prophetic. She takes a region often associated with sunshine and reinvention and reveals what’s possible when the land is scorched, when the systems fail, and when survival becomes a daily act of resistance.
But what moved me most is how Parable of the Sower still feels rooted. Rooted in ancestral knowing. In spiritual resilience. In the idea that Black girls carry memory and possibility in the same breath. Lauren Olamina, the book’s young protagonist, doesn’t just navigate chaos, she plants something new. She dares to believe in a future beyond destruction.
And not to tell too much of the story, but another deeply compelling and disturbing element is the re-emergence of slavery. In Butler’s world, history isn’t gone; it’s just repackaged. Human labor is bought and sold, and corporations control people through debt, addiction, and captivity. These modern-day plantations echo the brutal past, showing us that the root of oppression is never fully severed. It winds through time, reappearing whenever justice is neglected and power goes unchecked.
“All that you touch, You Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.” — Octavia E. Butler
At its core, Parable of the Sower is a heroine’s journey. Lauren answers a call most of us would run from. She leaves behind the familiar, faces devastating loss, and walks through fire both literally and figuratively. She is carrying not only her pain but also her vision for something better. She creates Earthseed, a spiritual belief rooted in adaptability, hope, and collective rebirth.
This is the kind of journey I write about in my own novel, The Pretender’s Game. Like Lauren, my protagonist is called to confront a fractured world and an even more fractured self. And like Parable, my story is rooted in ancestral memory, spiritual inheritance, and the kind of strength that blooms in dark soil.
The heroine’s path is not about perfection or ease it’s about transformation. And transformation, as Butler reminds us, always begins with change.
💬 Let’s Talk:
What’s your favorite heroine’s journey—book or movie? Is there a character who stayed with you the way Lauren Olamina did for me? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear what stories shaped you.
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Peggy Arthur 