When award-winning television news anchor Cheryl Wills discovers that her Great-great-great grandfather, Sandy Wills, was a runaway slave who joined the historic fight for freedom in the American Civil War, she embarks on an gut-wrenching search to learn more about the courageous ancestor who demonstrated the same courage that she knew in her beloved father, an intrepid New York City firefighter, who died when Cheryl was thirteen, and who never knew his family's notable legacy. Told with deep love and a brow-raising honesty, "Die Free" stretches from Haywood County, Tennessee, in the 1860s to New York City in the twentieth century. Cheryl shares the unvarnished truth about the Wills' family roots, ever entwined in passion, music, and faith. Cheryl also exhumes the spirit of her great-great-great grandmother Emma Wills, an illiterate lionhearted widow, who was discriminated against as she fought to obtain her husband's Civil War pension and unwittingly dictated her historic life, from slavery to freedom, in sworn depositions to a lawyer. The century-old pension papers become the Holy Grail for the newscaster who nails a scoop that has forever changed her life and that of future generations. A lesson in the pruning of one's imagination, "Die Free" takes readers on a haunting yet exhilarating ride through the side door of American history. ''Ancestry.com is proud that Cheryl Wills used our comprehensive website to make such a fascinating discovery. Die Free is a perfect example of why we do what we do! Cheryl Wills skillfully worked to uncover her family's glorious and tragic past; she learned the story of her ancestor Sandy Wills including stunning details of his sale into slavery, his noble service in the Civil War, and how he used his new-found freedom on every captivating page of Die Free . In the mingling of sweet and painful memories, she finds a certain freedom of her own. She reminds us that her ancestors and our ancestors did not live in vain. Their strong spirits will continue to inspire us -- if we let them.''-Loretto ''Lou'' Dennis Szucs, Vice President, Ancestry.com, author They Became Americans , co-editor The Source: A Guidebook to American Geneaology '' Die Free is a compelling American story. As Cheryl Wills traces the life of her forefathers and foremothers, she traces a critical part of American History that puts in perspective where we have come from to get to where we are. Cheryl writes with the passionate flair of a novelist that makes the book nearly impossible to put down. This is a must-read book for all members of the family, young and old alike.''-Rev. Al Sharpton, President and National Spokesman, National Action Network '' Die Free is a testament of courage. My friend Cheryl Wills' unselfish memoir is a history lesson for us all. She boldly goes where few authors have gone before. She gracefully shares her family's history over the last two centuries and unabashedly proclaims their victory in surviving slavery and Jim Crow in the United States of America.''-Hazel Dukes, President, NAACP NYS ''History is personal. Anyone who has difficulty making this connection should read Die Free , Cheryl Wills' chronicle of her ancestor's African American journey from slavery to freedom. The stories are so deeply engaging that readers will quickly realize that in telling her personal story, Cheryl Wills is also telling ours.'' --Warrington Hudlin, President, Black Filmmaker Foundation (BFF), Award Winning Film/Television/Internet Producer ''Some 200,000 black men fought in the American Civil War, yet their struggle for the right to fight and their heroic accomplishments are largely ignored. Cheryl Wills' compelling narrative clearly illustrates that sacrifice and the distance mankind will travel in pursuit of freedom.''-Frank Martin, Producer/Director, For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots ''Cheryl Wills' emotions are strong and her voice is grippingly honest as she paints a portrait of the experiences of the men and women in her family. Die Free is thus a testimony to the legacy left by Cheryl's great-great-great grandfather Sandy Wills and a memorable read for those who want to bear witness to a true and heartfelt rendering of the lives of African Americans over the last 170 years.''-Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Professor of English, Executive Director, The Center for Black Literature, Medgar Evers College CUNY, Director, National Black Writer's Conference '' Die Free is an amazing book. Cheryl Wills' account of her ancestors' struggle for freedom over the last two centuries is a powerful reminder that the battle for liberty and equality is a constant one.''-Carmen Marc Valvo, Acclaimed Fashion Designer, and Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) Ambassador '' Die Free is both confrontational and graceful. An epic family story that needed to be told. If you read Die Free while riding the bus or train, be prepared to miss your stop.''-Derrick Adkins, 1996 Olym