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Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People
From the National Book Award–winning author of All That She Carried, an intimate and revelatory reckoning with the myth and the truth behind an American everyone knows and few really understand
Harriet Tubman is among the most famous Americans ever born and soon to be the face of the twenty-dollar bill. Yet often she’s a figure more out of myth than history, almost a comic-book superhero. Despite being barely five feet tall, unable to read, and suffering from a brain injury, she managed to escape from her own enslavement, return again and again to lead others north to freedom without loss of life, speak out powerfully against slavery, and then become the first American woman in history to lead a military raid, freeing some seven hundred people. You could almost say she’s America’s Robin Hood, a miraculous vision, often rightly celebrated but seldom understood.
Tiya Miles’s extraordinary Night Flyer changes all that. With her characteristic tenderness and imaginative genius, Miles explores beyond the stock historical grid to weave Tubman’s life into the fabric of her world. She probes the ecological reality of Tubman’s surroundings and examines her kinship with other enslaved women who similarly passed through a spiritual wilderness and recorded those travels in profound and moving memoirs. What emerges, uncannily, is a human being whose mysticism becomes more palpable the more we understand it—a story that offers us powerful inspiration for our own time of troubles. Harriet Tubman traversed many boundaries, inner and outer. Now, thanks to Tiya Miles, she becomes an even clearer and sharper signal from the past, one that can help us to echolocate a more just and sustainable path.
Harriet Tubman is among the most famous Americans ever born and soon to be the face of the twenty-dollar bill. Yet often she’s a figure more out of myth than history, almost a comic-book superhero. Despite being barely five feet tall, unable to read, and suffering from a brain injury, she managed to escape from her own enslavement, return again and again to lead others north to freedom without loss of life, speak out powerfully against slavery, and then become the first American woman in history to lead a military raid, freeing some seven hundred people. You could almost say she’s America’s Robin Hood, a miraculous vision, often rightly celebrated but seldom understood.
Tiya Miles’s extraordinary Night Flyer changes all that. With her characteristic tenderness and imaginative genius, Miles explores beyond the stock historical grid to weave Tubman’s life into the fabric of her world. She probes the ecological reality of Tubman’s surroundings and examines her kinship with other enslaved women who similarly passed through a spiritual wilderness and recorded those travels in profound and moving memoirs. What emerges, uncannily, is a human being whose mysticism becomes more palpable the more we understand it—a story that offers us powerful inspiration for our own time of troubles. Harriet Tubman traversed many boundaries, inner and outer. Now, thanks to Tiya Miles, she becomes an even clearer and sharper signal from the past, one that can help us to echolocate a more just and sustainable path.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2024
212 people are currently reading
7492 people want to read
About the author
Tiya Miles
18 books573 followersTiya Miles is from Ohio, "the heart of it all," though now she spends summers in her husband's native Montana. She is the author of All That She Carried (which won a National Book Award for nonfiction and more), and of three prize-winning works of history on the intersections of African American and Native American experience. Her forthcoming book, Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People, will be out in June 2024, right on the heels of her short but sweet exploration of childhoods in nature: Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation (September 2024). Her debut dual time period (historical-contemporary) novel based on her early career research, The Cherokee Rose: A Novel of Gardens and Ghosts, was revised with new scenes and released as a paperback original by Random House in June 2023; check out the new version! She has also published a study of haunted plantations and manor homes in the South that reads like a travel narrative. (And she is as surprised as you are that two of her books focus on ghosts!) Her newest book, just out from W. W. Norton, is Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation. Tiya's favorite activities are reading good books while her three teenaged kids write stories together in the background, spending time in old houses, walking along forest trails, and drinking hot chocolate. She is currently working on a history, a novel, and essays about climate change and historic sites. Check out her Substack: Carrying Capacity, for news and updates! https://tiyamiles.substack.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
May 1, 2025
Beyond Myth: Lessons from Studying Tubman (Part 2)…
Preamble:
--This review continues from my paired review:
i) Larson’s 2003 Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero, where I set out the challenge of drawing out the theory/organization/practice of Tubman and her surroundings. Larson’s biography builds the historical foundations.
ii) This 2024 biography by Tiya Miles adds a creative, interpretive layer. I believe Miles accomplishes this with, in a sense, an anthropological lens, which is best described by the brilliant David Graeber:
Highlights:
--Miles unpacks the “luminous pragmatism” of Tubman as a pairing of:
1) Luminous – Spirituality:
--Tubman’s interpretation (theory) of religion was that of justice and equality; I’m naturally reminded of Liberation Theology:
--Of course, there were costs, as zealous religiosity to serve God could entail a lack of self care and high risk-taking, so Tubman also benefited from luck (“the charm”).
2) Pragmatism – Ecology:
--The innovation in Mile’s analysis is synthesizing Tubman’s luminous spirituality (which most Tubman biographers depict) with her pragmatic ecology (i.e. appreciation for relationships between all beings in the material world).
--Miles ties this to roots in West African/Native American/Southern Folk relationships with the environment and nature’s protections. Tubman built her observational skills of learning from natural settings early as a child running away from slave masters. She preferred working outside. The Bible provided metaphorical wilderness and refuge.
--As an activist, Tubman honed her pragmatic material skills: gathering reliable information/building social connections/sourcing materials/using geography and environments to protect herself and the slaves she helped rescue and her efforts in the Civil War.
--Given my bias for literacy, I was particularly fascinated with how Tubman adapted despite her illiteracy, relying on spoken/heard.
--Miles finishes with “Ecowomanism”, where “womanism” focuses more on hope/forgiveness/redemption from Christian Theology, in comparison with the critical analysis of “Black Feminism”. I’ll have to follow up on this with referenced works (nonfiction, hooray!) by Alice Walker, etc.
Preamble:
--This review continues from my paired review:
i) Larson’s 2003 Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero, where I set out the challenge of drawing out the theory/organization/practice of Tubman and her surroundings. Larson’s biography builds the historical foundations.
ii) This 2024 biography by Tiya Miles adds a creative, interpretive layer. I believe Miles accomplishes this with, in a sense, an anthropological lens, which is best described by the brilliant David Graeber:
I find that historians obviously do the most detailed, empirically informed work, but they have this rigorous refusal to talk about anything for which they do not have specific, concrete evidence, to the extent that you have to treat things that you can’t prove as if they didn’t happen, which is insane. So people write things about the origin of democratic institutions based on where they find the first written evidence for people sitting around making decisions together. And we have to pretend that before that they didn’t do that. It’s absurd. On the other hand, economists go all the way the other way. It’s all models. They don’t really care what’s there. They listen until they can have enough evidence to plug in to a model where they can show some signs that people are doing what they think they really ought to have been doing, and then they create a model saying they did that. I think anthropology is a happy medium. We can fill in the blank spaces, but we can do so based on empirical observation of what people in analogous situations actually have tended to do.
Highlights:
--Miles unpacks the “luminous pragmatism” of Tubman as a pairing of:
1) Luminous – Spirituality:
--Tubman’s interpretation (theory) of religion was that of justice and equality; I’m naturally reminded of Liberation Theology:
When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint.--Prayers are opportunities for deep thinking and problem-solving, a “convergence” of feeling/sensing/thinking… finding meaning and inspiration in life-altering experiences (which greeted Tubman numerous times during her 91 years on this Earth). The pain and disability Tubman experienced were interpreted as spiritual journeys/tests.
When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.
-Dom Helder Camara
--Of course, there were costs, as zealous religiosity to serve God could entail a lack of self care and high risk-taking, so Tubman also benefited from luck (“the charm”).
2) Pragmatism – Ecology:
--The innovation in Mile’s analysis is synthesizing Tubman’s luminous spirituality (which most Tubman biographers depict) with her pragmatic ecology (i.e. appreciation for relationships between all beings in the material world).
--Miles ties this to roots in West African/Native American/Southern Folk relationships with the environment and nature’s protections. Tubman built her observational skills of learning from natural settings early as a child running away from slave masters. She preferred working outside. The Bible provided metaphorical wilderness and refuge.
--As an activist, Tubman honed her pragmatic material skills: gathering reliable information/building social connections/sourcing materials/using geography and environments to protect herself and the slaves she helped rescue and her efforts in the Civil War.
--Given my bias for literacy, I was particularly fascinated with how Tubman adapted despite her illiteracy, relying on spoken/heard.
--Miles finishes with “Ecowomanism”, where “womanism” focuses more on hope/forgiveness/redemption from Christian Theology, in comparison with the critical analysis of “Black Feminism”. I’ll have to follow up on this with referenced works (nonfiction, hooray!) by Alice Walker, etc.
August 27, 2024
I realized how embarrassingly little I knew about Harriet Tubman when I started reading this book, which takes on Harriet's support system, mainly her faith. I found this surprisingly intriguing, as a non-religious person. The real amazement here, though, in my opinion, is how bad-ass Harriet is. You don't know the half of it! I wish there was more!!
September 12, 2024
This book explores the life of Harriet Tubman through the lens of her beliefs. Unlike a typical chronological biography, writer Taya Miles organizes Tubman's story thematically around various seasons of her life and she refers to her work as a "faith biography".
Tubman's life was guided by and intrinsically interwoven with her profound spirituality and belief in God, her love of family and community and an uncanny connection with the natural world and her surroundings. In highlighting Tubman's intelligence, resilience, and determination along with her suffering as an enslaved person and lifelong physical debilitation, Miles seeks to "peel back the layers of myth" and uncover Tubman as the remarkable, but very human, person that she was.
This is a lyrical and artfully imagined look at Harriet Tubman in the context of her beliefs and her culture. Of her synergy with nature, Miles writes: By the end of her life, she had become like these various features of nature: a guiding star, a giving tree, a saving river, and a bracing rock in the lives of the people who depended on her and on whom she could depend for companionship.
A wonderful book: meditative, scholarly and beautifully written.
Tubman's life was guided by and intrinsically interwoven with her profound spirituality and belief in God, her love of family and community and an uncanny connection with the natural world and her surroundings. In highlighting Tubman's intelligence, resilience, and determination along with her suffering as an enslaved person and lifelong physical debilitation, Miles seeks to "peel back the layers of myth" and uncover Tubman as the remarkable, but very human, person that she was.
This is a lyrical and artfully imagined look at Harriet Tubman in the context of her beliefs and her culture. Of her synergy with nature, Miles writes: By the end of her life, she had become like these various features of nature: a guiding star, a giving tree, a saving river, and a bracing rock in the lives of the people who depended on her and on whom she could depend for companionship.
A wonderful book: meditative, scholarly and beautifully written.
January 31, 2025
Excellent!
Re-Read.
Re-Read.
November 14, 2025
Solid read! I read this after reading Fields-Black's Combee, which as a lay reader (not a historian!!) felt like a very different "kind" of history book than Night Flyer (e.g., Combee has a lot more detail and primary sources; it's more straight-forward/"dry"). Combee inspired me to learn more, and I recognized Miles' name from her incredible All That She Carried, which stuck with me and which I continue to strongly recommend.
Night Flyer highlights some important parts of Tubman's life, and emphasizes her faith, family connection, and similarities between her and other Black women spiritual leaders (especially Julia Foote, who I previously knew nothing about!), thereby arguing that Tubman is a prominent part of ecowomanism. On paper, this sounds amazing - in reading this book, the overarching themes did not totally come together for me, some important scenes/historical moments were rushed, the sporatic incorporation of Foote unfortunately made her feel a bit like an annecdote/aside, and the uses of "must have..." when creatively speculating on history was a bit distracting. In the end, it felt like not quite a biography and not quite a broader analysis?
But!! I think that if I had not literally just read Combee, or I had a better familiarity with history books, then I might have a different perspective.
Listened on audio, while driving and choring: great narration!
Night Flyer highlights some important parts of Tubman's life, and emphasizes her faith, family connection, and similarities between her and other Black women spiritual leaders (especially Julia Foote, who I previously knew nothing about!), thereby arguing that Tubman is a prominent part of ecowomanism. On paper, this sounds amazing - in reading this book, the overarching themes did not totally come together for me, some important scenes/historical moments were rushed, the sporatic incorporation of Foote unfortunately made her feel a bit like an annecdote/aside, and the uses of "must have..." when creatively speculating on history was a bit distracting. In the end, it felt like not quite a biography and not quite a broader analysis?
But!! I think that if I had not literally just read Combee, or I had a better familiarity with history books, then I might have a different perspective.
Listened on audio, while driving and choring: great narration!
March 11, 2025
Impeccably researched while remaining thoroughly captivating as a biographical narrative “Night Flyer” provides a fresh perspective on Harriet Tubman’s life.
Eschewing the superhuman mysticism that often surrounds her, author Tiya Miles instead focuses on Tubman’s fervent spirituality, connection to nature and surrounding community as what helped her to realize her destiny as one of the most important figures in American history.
Ultimately, this is a humanizing portrait of a humble and astonishingly brave woman who lived a truly extraordinary life.
The story contained within “Night Flyer” is best encapsulated by the author, Tiya Miles, herself:
“Harriet made a friend of nature, just as she made a partner of God. She approached each day living on earth with a luminous pragmatism.”
Eschewing the superhuman mysticism that often surrounds her, author Tiya Miles instead focuses on Tubman’s fervent spirituality, connection to nature and surrounding community as what helped her to realize her destiny as one of the most important figures in American history.
Ultimately, this is a humanizing portrait of a humble and astonishingly brave woman who lived a truly extraordinary life.
The story contained within “Night Flyer” is best encapsulated by the author, Tiya Miles, herself:
“Harriet made a friend of nature, just as she made a partner of God. She approached each day living on earth with a luminous pragmatism.”
June 28, 2024
Historian Tiya Miles explores the faith and devotion of abolitionist and conductor of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman. Night Flyer is not a cradle-to-grave biography of Tubman's life. It is an expedition of the physical and spiritual map of Tubman's path from a young enslaved girl to a Black holy woman, deliverer, and caretaker of freedom seekers. At the heart of Harriet Tubman's activism is her ever-abiding faith in God to watch over and guide her throughout her life and, in particular, six "troubles" or episodes that could have, would have sent her back into bondage.
As a young enslaved woman then named Araminta "Minty" Ross, Harriet Tubman suffered an extremely violent blow to the head when she attempted to intercede in the abuse of a fellow slave by their overseer. The long-term effects of the brutal impact included seizures and episodes of unconsciousness, as well as vivid dreams and visions that led to a spiritual awareness that would stay with her throughout her life.
Through this lens of faith, Miles explores the life of Harriet Tubman. Her deep devotion to God guided her as she traversed the terrain of the Underground Railroad as a conductor seeking freedom for others mired in bondage. Miles correlates Tubman's spirituality to other Black holy women of her time, namely Old Elizabeth, Jarena Lee, Zilpha Elaw, and Julia Foote. What drove these women to have such an abiding faith in God while struggling to obtain clarity in their physical and spiritual life? How did Harriet's devotion to a higher power put her on the trajectory of being a deliverer and caretaker of family and strangers? Miles also connects Tubman's life to the natural world through her beautiful prose, examining this theme of faith.
Instead of relying on primary documents, which she does include, Miles examines the earlier historiography of well-respected Tubman historians, including Kate Clifford Larson and Catherine Clinton. Miles' Pulitzer-worthy addition provides new insights through a unique lens that helps fill the gaps and stand beside the stellar works of her fellow historians.
As a young enslaved woman then named Araminta "Minty" Ross, Harriet Tubman suffered an extremely violent blow to the head when she attempted to intercede in the abuse of a fellow slave by their overseer. The long-term effects of the brutal impact included seizures and episodes of unconsciousness, as well as vivid dreams and visions that led to a spiritual awareness that would stay with her throughout her life.
Through this lens of faith, Miles explores the life of Harriet Tubman. Her deep devotion to God guided her as she traversed the terrain of the Underground Railroad as a conductor seeking freedom for others mired in bondage. Miles correlates Tubman's spirituality to other Black holy women of her time, namely Old Elizabeth, Jarena Lee, Zilpha Elaw, and Julia Foote. What drove these women to have such an abiding faith in God while struggling to obtain clarity in their physical and spiritual life? How did Harriet's devotion to a higher power put her on the trajectory of being a deliverer and caretaker of family and strangers? Miles also connects Tubman's life to the natural world through her beautiful prose, examining this theme of faith.
Instead of relying on primary documents, which she does include, Miles examines the earlier historiography of well-respected Tubman historians, including Kate Clifford Larson and Catherine Clinton. Miles' Pulitzer-worthy addition provides new insights through a unique lens that helps fill the gaps and stand beside the stellar works of her fellow historians.
October 17, 2024
What I was looking for: a cradle to grave biography.
Excerpt from the first page of the introduction: “this is not a cradle to grave biography”🙃
The lens was very academic and I often felt like the book’s commitment to its thesis held it back.
I’m glad I read it and I certainly learned something but this is not the book I would recommend to those who want to get to know Harriet Tubman and why she’s one of the coolest people in American history.
Excerpt from the first page of the introduction: “this is not a cradle to grave biography”🙃
The lens was very academic and I often felt like the book’s commitment to its thesis held it back.
I’m glad I read it and I certainly learned something but this is not the book I would recommend to those who want to get to know Harriet Tubman and why she’s one of the coolest people in American history.
May 2, 2025
Ecowomanism, luminous pragmatism. I learned a lot in this book, and it has a very clear thesis: that Tubman was connected deeply to both God and nature and saw both as her allies in the fight to free enslaved people in this country. The Afterward hints at even more information about Tubman from letters Miles now has access to, but it only gives us a tease about what is in them. I understand that the archives on Tubman are thin, but I wanted to know more about her later years and also about Miles's own journey into the natural landscapes that Tubman traversed for years in her quest to bring people to freedom. The book engages with a new to me branch of feminism (ecowomanism) that is valuable in understanding Tubman and the community and lineage of women who were informed and inspired by their faith to which she belonged. The thread about Tubman's disabilities and potential neurodivergence also felt meaningful. I always enjoy Miles's work and I learn something from her each new book I read.
July 5, 2024
If I spent the whole day in a museum dedicated to Harriet Tubman, and I had exclusive access to the most knowledgeable docent, I may have received 50 percent of the information Tiya Miles presents in this nonfiction book. “The thematic focus of this book has been Tubman‘a worldview – meaning her religious faith, her thoughts and ideas, her environmental consciousness, and her holistic application of these aspects in life practice.” Miles writes that she “relies more on a close reading of narrative text than on an assembling of original documents.” With 42 pages of end notes and index, Miles presents a detailed document about Harriet Tubman and the different elements that made up a whole person. This is a very intelligent work, not a historical fiction. Full disclosure: I started this book months ago and could not finish. With this read, I finished it in two days.
July 27, 2024
A different sort of biography in that it weaves in other life stories as complements to Harriet Tubman’s life. The author discusses what other Black women of faith were doing at the time of Harriet’s enslavement and subsequent freedom. There’s also dissection of her contemporary biographers as well as the Indigenous provenance of the land Harriet eventually buys.
Only four stars because the preface, prologue, and first section almost did me in with tedium. Slog through because the rest is a great book.
Only four stars because the preface, prologue, and first section almost did me in with tedium. Slog through because the rest is a great book.
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September 5, 2024See full review in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
"National Book Award winner Tiya Miles has delivered an innovative vision of Harriet Tubman’s life in her groundbreaking biography “Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People.” Pushing past the mythology of Tubman as the “hyperracial oddity” that previous biographers have portrayed, Miles takes painstaking care to present Tubman as a God-fearing freedom fighter in all her life stages. From an adolescent who survives a head injury to a woman who suffers greatly while toiling to free others from enslavement, Tubman was a mortal woman who relied on her faith and connection to nature to persevere..."
https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/nati...
"National Book Award winner Tiya Miles has delivered an innovative vision of Harriet Tubman’s life in her groundbreaking biography “Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People.” Pushing past the mythology of Tubman as the “hyperracial oddity” that previous biographers have portrayed, Miles takes painstaking care to present Tubman as a God-fearing freedom fighter in all her life stages. From an adolescent who survives a head injury to a woman who suffers greatly while toiling to free others from enslavement, Tubman was a mortal woman who relied on her faith and connection to nature to persevere..."
https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/nati...
March 13, 2025
Despite knowing about Harriet Tubman since I was a child, I learned so much in this book. It painted a picture of a real human woman rather than the myth of Harriet that I knew.
The author calls it a faith biography, and I found it spiritually motivating and inspiring beyond just the informative biography parts.
There are several other spiritual Black women that I heard about for the first time that I’m excited to read more about.
Thanks to the author for reviving and rejuvenating a familiar subject!
The author calls it a faith biography, and I found it spiritually motivating and inspiring beyond just the informative biography parts.
There are several other spiritual Black women that I heard about for the first time that I’m excited to read more about.
Thanks to the author for reviving and rejuvenating a familiar subject!
June 18, 2024
Book Review: "Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People" by Tiya Miles
"Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People" by Tiya Miles is a phenomenal work that delves deeply into the spiritual journey and indomitable spirit of Harriet Tubman, known affectionately as Minty Ross. I would like to extend my gratitude to Penguin Random House for providing an advance copy of this extraordinary book.
Reading this book felt incredibly timely and poignant. It aligns beautifully with a recent Bible study I attended, where I shared passages from Psalms 91:14-16 and related them to Minty Ross’s unwavering trust in God. Tiya Miles paints a vivid picture of Black woman’s spirituality, demonstrating how faith becomes a beacon of hope in times of despair and grief. This resonated deeply with me, and I appreciated how Miles captured the essence of Minty’s spiritual resilience.
One of the most remarkable aspects of "Night Flyer" is the new perspective it offers on Harriet Tubman. Tiya Miles presents her not just as a freedom fighter but as the first female ecologist and environmentalist, who also had an astute understanding of astronomy. This lens enriches the narrative, showing us the multifaceted genius of Minty Ross and her deep connection to the natural world.
Miles’s portrayal of Minty Ross’s endurance is both powerful and humanizing. The author breathes life into her story, making her struggles and triumphs feel palpable and real. I have always been aware of Harriet Tubman, but this book allowed me to truly connect with her story in a way I hadn’t before. Initially, I didn’t see myself reflected in her heroism, but Tiya Miles has changed that for me. There’s a little Minty in me, and I believe there’s a little Harriet in all of us.
I am excited to discuss this book with the members of my mommies group, on the first Saturday of July. The timing couldn't be more perfect, as we focus on themes of trust, faith, and salvation, especially with Juneteenth upon us. This is a story that needs to be told, heard, and cherished.
"Night Flyer" is a book that every reader should have on their shelves. It’s a 5-star read, and if there were a ten-star rating in the literary world, it would undoubtedly earn that too. I urge everyone to read this book – it’s a masterpiece that will leave a lasting impact on your heart and soul.
Shonda Moore
Moderator, This Browne Girl Reads
"Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People" by Tiya Miles is a phenomenal work that delves deeply into the spiritual journey and indomitable spirit of Harriet Tubman, known affectionately as Minty Ross. I would like to extend my gratitude to Penguin Random House for providing an advance copy of this extraordinary book.
Reading this book felt incredibly timely and poignant. It aligns beautifully with a recent Bible study I attended, where I shared passages from Psalms 91:14-16 and related them to Minty Ross’s unwavering trust in God. Tiya Miles paints a vivid picture of Black woman’s spirituality, demonstrating how faith becomes a beacon of hope in times of despair and grief. This resonated deeply with me, and I appreciated how Miles captured the essence of Minty’s spiritual resilience.
One of the most remarkable aspects of "Night Flyer" is the new perspective it offers on Harriet Tubman. Tiya Miles presents her not just as a freedom fighter but as the first female ecologist and environmentalist, who also had an astute understanding of astronomy. This lens enriches the narrative, showing us the multifaceted genius of Minty Ross and her deep connection to the natural world.
Miles’s portrayal of Minty Ross’s endurance is both powerful and humanizing. The author breathes life into her story, making her struggles and triumphs feel palpable and real. I have always been aware of Harriet Tubman, but this book allowed me to truly connect with her story in a way I hadn’t before. Initially, I didn’t see myself reflected in her heroism, but Tiya Miles has changed that for me. There’s a little Minty in me, and I believe there’s a little Harriet in all of us.
I am excited to discuss this book with the members of my mommies group, on the first Saturday of July. The timing couldn't be more perfect, as we focus on themes of trust, faith, and salvation, especially with Juneteenth upon us. This is a story that needs to be told, heard, and cherished.
"Night Flyer" is a book that every reader should have on their shelves. It’s a 5-star read, and if there were a ten-star rating in the literary world, it would undoubtedly earn that too. I urge everyone to read this book – it’s a masterpiece that will leave a lasting impact on your heart and soul.
Shonda Moore
Moderator, This Browne Girl Reads
February 16, 2025
Worth a read but I think this one is better taken in the context of other works about Harriet Tubman.
She is fascinating, and this book attempts to delve into what motivated her and who she was as much as what she actually did, which was a phenomenal lot. Unfortunately, there's not much more to the record, and a lot of what's here felt speculative. To be fair, the author is pretty clear there is a frustrating lack of information from a woman who lived 50 years after the Civil War, controlled her own narrative, and who's story has been largely recounted by well-meaning white abolitionist women who focused on what made here unique and less that made her human.
I liked learning about the other women in this book (Jarena Lee and Zilpha Elaw) and would have liked more about them than just what could be used to extrapolate points about Tubman.
I like the effort here to make the heroic life of Harriet Tubman seem like something we can all aspire to and make a difference, and maybe I took this wrong - but I'm kind of hesitant to buy into the thesis that Tubman's feats were mostly rooted in her faith because that necessarily implies that lack of faith is the reason so many remained enslaved. And that really rubs me the wrong way.
This looks like it will be an interesting series, and I hope Martin Delany gets his due because there is a frustrating lack of works about him.
She is fascinating, and this book attempts to delve into what motivated her and who she was as much as what she actually did, which was a phenomenal lot. Unfortunately, there's not much more to the record, and a lot of what's here felt speculative. To be fair, the author is pretty clear there is a frustrating lack of information from a woman who lived 50 years after the Civil War, controlled her own narrative, and who's story has been largely recounted by well-meaning white abolitionist women who focused on what made here unique and less that made her human.
I liked learning about the other women in this book (Jarena Lee and Zilpha Elaw) and would have liked more about them than just what could be used to extrapolate points about Tubman.
I like the effort here to make the heroic life of Harriet Tubman seem like something we can all aspire to and make a difference, and maybe I took this wrong - but I'm kind of hesitant to buy into the thesis that Tubman's feats were mostly rooted in her faith because that necessarily implies that lack of faith is the reason so many remained enslaved. And that really rubs me the wrong way.
This looks like it will be an interesting series, and I hope Martin Delany gets his due because there is a frustrating lack of works about him.
July 27, 2024
This is an account of the deeply religious life of Harriet Tubman thru the lens of eco-womanism.
A brilliant and personalized look at why she became who she was, not a super hero or caricature we have made in pop culture…
And it left me with a lot to think about.
A brilliant and personalized look at why she became who she was, not a super hero or caricature we have made in pop culture…
And it left me with a lot to think about.
October 19, 2024
I was hoping more for an in-depth biography but it is more an academic thesis on Black female faith culture of the mid-1800s.
November 6, 2025
Genuinely interesting ideas connecting Harriet Tubman's life to other 19th century spiritual memoirs by Black women, and then connecting these holy women to wilderness environments which were seen by them as both dangerous and useful. But unfortunately I don't feel like Miles was able to fully follow through on these ideas - the other spiritual memoirs were mentioned relatively sparingly and without enough depth or specificity to really drive her points home.
Additionally, there were a few ways that the writing was simply not very engaging. As others have noted, the frequent land acknowledgements and hedging about what we can't know for certain about Tubman's life are very warranted, but they were repetitive and distracting and didn't add anything new to the overall narrative. Like if you want to argue that Tubman is quoted as saying X but we have reason to believe that her audience was biased to hear X while Tubman likely actually meant Y, then that's cool. But just being like, Tubman is quoted as saying X and who knows if that's right maybe it is maybe it isn't but it was a white woman writing it down so we really can't say, so anyways maybe she felt this way but maybe she also felt this other way - like it just felt unnecessary and ultimately unhelpful. Like I KNOW there are better ways to do this.
It also irked me that Tubman seemed overly lionized, despite Miles saying in the intro that she specifically wanted to not do that since previous representations often portrayed Tubman as a mythic superhero person. But Miles just seemed hellbent on seeing Tubman in only the most reverential light - like she talks about Tubman buying some oxen and then wonders whether she whispered lovingly to them, or perhaps petted them before or after a day of work, or perhaps regretted using them to further her own ends. Like ?? why are we so strictly imagining her doing only the most saintly things lol like she probably treated them like anyone else who used animal labor in their work.
Lastly, I did not think this book was written in a way that's accessible - like it's only for people that are okay with phrases like "ecowomanist approach" and "phenomenological orientation" being tossed around without even a halfhearted attempt to define them. Idk like tell me you did women and genders studies without telling me you did women and gender studies. Honestly, even if I felt like I knew what these phrases meant, I don't think they were used appropriately; it just felt like shoving giant words into introductory and conclusion sections without making any kind of genuine attempt to follow through and link them to concrete examples. Like you can't just say "I believe concept A is connected to concept B" and then drop a bunch of loosely connected facts, you have to actually tell me!!! Why is A connected to B!! Even if it's obvious to you, the Harvard professor, it is not obvious to me and I need you to walk me through it! Also wtf does B even mean, no one knows what phenomenological means not even philosophers!! Frankly I'm astonished this book is intended for lay audiences, but if I were a domain expert I think I'd still find this writing style obnoxious and opaque.
Additionally, there were a few ways that the writing was simply not very engaging. As others have noted, the frequent land acknowledgements and hedging about what we can't know for certain about Tubman's life are very warranted, but they were repetitive and distracting and didn't add anything new to the overall narrative. Like if you want to argue that Tubman is quoted as saying X but we have reason to believe that her audience was biased to hear X while Tubman likely actually meant Y, then that's cool. But just being like, Tubman is quoted as saying X and who knows if that's right maybe it is maybe it isn't but it was a white woman writing it down so we really can't say, so anyways maybe she felt this way but maybe she also felt this other way - like it just felt unnecessary and ultimately unhelpful. Like I KNOW there are better ways to do this.
It also irked me that Tubman seemed overly lionized, despite Miles saying in the intro that she specifically wanted to not do that since previous representations often portrayed Tubman as a mythic superhero person. But Miles just seemed hellbent on seeing Tubman in only the most reverential light - like she talks about Tubman buying some oxen and then wonders whether she whispered lovingly to them, or perhaps petted them before or after a day of work, or perhaps regretted using them to further her own ends. Like ?? why are we so strictly imagining her doing only the most saintly things lol like she probably treated them like anyone else who used animal labor in their work.
Lastly, I did not think this book was written in a way that's accessible - like it's only for people that are okay with phrases like "ecowomanist approach" and "phenomenological orientation" being tossed around without even a halfhearted attempt to define them. Idk like tell me you did women and genders studies without telling me you did women and gender studies. Honestly, even if I felt like I knew what these phrases meant, I don't think they were used appropriately; it just felt like shoving giant words into introductory and conclusion sections without making any kind of genuine attempt to follow through and link them to concrete examples. Like you can't just say "I believe concept A is connected to concept B" and then drop a bunch of loosely connected facts, you have to actually tell me!!! Why is A connected to B!! Even if it's obvious to you, the Harvard professor, it is not obvious to me and I need you to walk me through it! Also wtf does B even mean, no one knows what phenomenological means not even philosophers!! Frankly I'm astonished this book is intended for lay audiences, but if I were a domain expert I think I'd still find this writing style obnoxious and opaque.
December 24, 2024
Tiya Miles' novel is brilliant and enlightening, and not rehashing common knowledge that you would expect in coming into the topic of Harriet Tubman. One of the absolute standout moments, in seeing Ms. Miles talk about her book at the History Book Festival,
https://www.historybookfestival.org/m...
was the idea of Harriet Tubman as an environmentalist. Literally the day before a notable speaker, representing Rally 2024 and the Narragansett Indian Tribe - emphasized how nature and leaders the environment will determine our futures as well as preserve the histories and indigenous peoples of the past and reclaim their presence in a current history that largely has not done this.
This book explores what others have said about Harriet Tubman, but looks into how the environment plays such an important role in the part she played in pushing back against the fight against the freedom she sought. Amazing and very important insights that shed light on what Harriet Tubman means in the light of what others have said, that not might necessarily be the best authority.
https://www.historybookfestival.org/m...
was the idea of Harriet Tubman as an environmentalist. Literally the day before a notable speaker, representing Rally 2024 and the Narragansett Indian Tribe - emphasized how nature and leaders the environment will determine our futures as well as preserve the histories and indigenous peoples of the past and reclaim their presence in a current history that largely has not done this.
This book explores what others have said about Harriet Tubman, but looks into how the environment plays such an important role in the part she played in pushing back against the fight against the freedom she sought. Amazing and very important insights that shed light on what Harriet Tubman means in the light of what others have said, that not might necessarily be the best authority.
September 23, 2025
I love books like this that tell someone’s story without being a chronological narrative. In Night Flyer we learn about Harriet Tubman through an analysis of her beliefs. There are some stories about her life that I’ve read about in other books, but here they are presented to better describe a character trait or her actions in a certain situation. I knew about her childhood head injury and in this book Tiya Miles shows us how the injury related to Harriet’s spirituality and perception about the future and the events happening around her. I also love how ecology and nature played a huge role in Harriet’s life and the way Miles depicts that in the book.
May 31, 2025
This was a fascinating deep dive on the life of Harriet Tubman. While most people know of her pioneering efforts of the Underground Railroad, this book researched a great number of details of her life. It’s not a “cradle to grave” biography. Rather it’s an overall enjoyable tale that helped me gain a better understanding of her motivations and beliefs. I was glad that the author’s extensive research didn’t bog down the book to make it feel like a textbook. The storytelling brought this book to life.
October 7, 2025
The most humanizing work I’ve seen so far on Tubman. American history always flattens and decontextualizes the figures it chooses to highlight, which makes their heroic deeds seem superhuman. Miles cuts straight through that and succeeds to portray Harriet Tubman in a way that is grounded in faith, family and community. I was excited to learn that there were other Black abolitionist women who were preaching around the same time as Harriet. This is also an important work on the difference between white western Christianity and African American Christianity and the importance of faith/spirituality as a revolutionary practice.
September 17, 2024
Full review here: https://dearstrangethings.substack.co...
December 24, 2024
Tubman is fascinating. The author underhandedly insults Tubman’s intelligence by inserting her own beliefs about God.
January 1, 2025
An insightful and unique look at Harriet Tubman, which has led me to other related books I want to read.
January 23, 2025
4 stars - I continue to admire Tiya Miles’ historical work. This study about Harriet Tubman isn’t a traditional biography, but it illuminates Tubman’s religious beliefs and relationship with the environment. Miles also places Tubman in context with four other Black spiritual women contemporaries. Miles discusses her historical approach and sources at the end, which is interesting to read, since very little exists in Tubman’s voice.
October 21, 2024
This books has some anecdotes and some facts. However, it has a lot of speculation. I gave it 4* for the information I learned.
July 22, 2024
Excellent telling, information, and history about Harriet Tubman (Araminta Ross/Minty Ross daughter of Rit Green & Ben Ross). Incredible fortitude, perseverance, and faith. Also interwoven with other black female spiritual writers of the time with their thoughts and stories providing access to a further depth of understanding.
March 4, 2025
Audio. A new take on biography by focusing on Tubman's ecological and spiritual gifts and strengths. I enjoyed learning about her life and work via this lens, as well as some of her contemporaries.
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