“Jacqueline Wheelock’s novel, A Most Precious Gift, lives up to its name. it’s a gift to every reader. Reminiscent of the downstairs lives in Upstairs, Downstairs, it brings fresh perspective to the lives of slaves in a pre-Civil War southern town mansion. A love story written with rare perception, it reveals the plight of a beautiful slave girl, Dinah, who struggles to live free, love, and marry the man of her choice. With energy and a fierce devotion to her Christian faith, she fights for the right of self-determination. And like many of us, she does so amidst her own negative thoughts shouting, “you’re not good enough.”
— Judy H. Tucker, Editor/writer, Coming Home to Mississippi,
University Press of Mississippi, 2013