Chapter summaries Me Amber McBride

Chapter 17 Summary: I Dream of My Grandfather (Rootworker)

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

During fall break, the narrator visits her grandfather at a crossroads in a graveyard near Nashville. She recalls being ten years old, standing beside him as he chants a long, desperate prayer to the spirits. The prayer is longer than usual, filled with what she describes as hooded notes and haunting hope. When he finishes, she uses her scrawny strength to help him stand. He then pours whiskey onto the thirsty earth, a gesture of offering.

Grandfather tells her she must remember this work, grow in it, and live it. When she asks what kind of conjure this is, he bends down again, digs deeper into the soil, and places her cut nails, a tuft of her hair, a photo of the two of them, two tiny seeds, and a crisp white feather into the hole. He blows cigar smoke over the pit and explains that this is long work—a finding spell for roots destined to twine.

She asks him to tell her again how the magic started. He recounts the history of Hoodoo: a boat with a belly that sags into the sea, gorging on brown bodies; an auction block where souls are tossed like pepper across the Southern states; a new god paler than salt; a whip sharper than fangs. But the ancestors, the ground, and the roots work the same. They hide hope inside the folds of Bible books, and offerings are added to tip the odds—a rebellion, an uprising in the spirit right under the master's hateful nose.

After the story, she helps him stand again, and he leaves his work. At the gate, he covers his face so the spirits won't gossip about his private tasks. A year later, her gray-bearded grandfather dies. Her mother leaves her magic behind when she migrates north to New York. The narrator remembers the stories and the roots, but not the work—not the dirt. She wonders if that is why her family is cursed. She reflects that her grandfather was a great conjurer, but even the greatest rootworkers can't raise the dead, so none of his spells are useful to her now. In her head, she hears his voice chanting that the ancestors are with her, that she is never alone, that she has magic in her bones, and that he would never leave her trapped or defenseless.

Key Events

The narrator visits her grandfather at a crossroads in a graveyard near Nashville during fall break.
Grandfather chants a long prayer to spirits, then pours whiskey on the earth as an offering.
He instructs her to remember and live the work of rootwork.
He performs a finding spell using her nails, hair, a photo, seeds, and a feather, blowing cigar smoke over the hole.
Grandfather tells the story of Hoodoo's origins, including slave ships, auction blocks, and hidden hope in Bible books.
He covers his face at the gate to keep spirits from gossiping about his work.
A year later, Grandfather dies.
The narrator's mother leaves her magic when migrating north to New York.
The narrator remembers the stories but not the practical work, and reflects on the family curse and the limits of rootwork.

Character Development

Moth (the narrator) is shown as a child in this memory, but her adult perspective shapes the chapter. As a ten-year-old, she is curious and eager to hear the story of how the magic started. She helps her grandfather with physical tasks, showing her devotion. As an adult, she carries guilt and loss: she remembers the stories and the roots but not the actual work, and she wonders if that forgetting is why her family is cursed. Her grief is compounded by the realization that even her grandfather's great power could not save him from death. Yet the chapter ends with her hearing his voice, suggesting that his spiritual guidance still reaches her.

Grandfather is portrayed as a rootworker deeply connected to the spirits and the land. He performs rituals with care and intention, and he passes down both the practical methods and the oral history of Hoodoo. His covering his face at the gate shows his respect for the spirits' boundaries and his desire for privacy in his sacred work. His death marks the end of an era for the family's magical practice.

Mom appears only briefly, but her decision to leave her magic when migrating north is pivotal. It represents a break in the chain of tradition, and it explains why the narrator feels disconnected from the work even though she remembers the stories.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Rootwork and Hoodoo as legacy: The chapter centers on the passing down of magical knowledge from grandfather to granddaughter. The finding spell and the prayer are concrete examples of this tradition.
Crossroads and graveyard as sacred space: The setting—a crossroads in a graveyard near Nashville—is where the living and spirits can meet. The narrator describes it as a place where fingerprints match and lifelines can twine and untwine.
Memory and forgetting: The narrator's inability to remember the actual work, only the stories, becomes a source of guilt and a possible cause of the family curse.
Migration and loss of tradition: Mom's move north to New York symbolizes the broader loss of cultural and spiritual practices that can occur when families relocate.
Death and the limits of magic: The narrator notes that even great rootworkers cannot raise the dead, underscoring the theme of mortality and the boundaries of spiritual power.
Hidden hope and rebellion: Grandfather's story of ancestors hiding hope inside Bible books and staging an uprising in the spirit frames Hoodoo as an act of resistance against oppression.
Offerings to spirits: Whiskey, nails, hair, seeds, and feather are all offerings that connect the physical world to the spiritual one.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is foundational for understanding Moth's relationship to magic and her family history. It explains how she was introduced to rootwork as a child, and it establishes the emotional weight of losing that connection. The death of her grandfather and her mother's decision to leave magic behind create a rupture that the narrator believes may have cursed her family. This sets up the central conflict of the novel: Moth must decide whether to reclaim the work she has forgotten or remain disconnected from her ancestors. The chapter also deepens the novel's exploration of Hoodoo as a living tradition rooted in resistance and hope, and it foreshadows the challenges Moth will face as she tries to navigate her own spiritual inheritance.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Grandfather cover his face at the gate? He covers his face so the spirits won't gossip about his private tasks. This shows his respect for the boundary between the living and the spirit world, and it emphasizes the secrecy and reverence that surround rootwork.

2. What does the finding spell symbolize in this chapter? The finding spell—using the narrator's nails, hair, a photo, seeds, and a feather—symbolizes the connection between generations and the hope that roots are destined to twine. It represents the desire to bind the family to its spiritual heritage and to each other, even across time and distance.

3. How does the narrator's forgetting of the work affect her sense of identity? The narrator remembers the stories but not the practical work, and she wonders if that forgetting is why her family is cursed. This loss makes her feel disconnected from her grandfather and her ancestors, and it creates a sense of guilt and incompleteness that drives her later journey to reclaim her magic.

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Published August 11, 2026 Updated August 11, 2026 How this guide was made Report an error