Marian Mccraney Perry’s New Book, "Loss and Privilege," is a Powerful Family History That Intertwines Personal Hardship with Major Events in American History

Newberry, FL, December 10, 2025 --(PR.com)-- Fulton Books author Marian McCraney Perry, a communication scholar and teacher, has completed her most recent book, “Loss and Privilege: Ancestral Stories of Nathan McCraney and Luraney Driggers”: a poignant and compelling look at the author’s ancestors, and how their family history is interconnected with American history, including the Seminole Wars, the beginning of American slavery, and the Civil War.

In addition to communication law, author Marian McCraney Perry, PhD, most recently taught speech and writing classes in communication management and science communication at the University of Florida. She also helped build a communication management program at the National University of Singapore. Before her teaching career, she was a journalist with the St. Petersburg Times.

“Nathan’s ancestors came to America in 1739 in the first wave of Scots escaping the fallout of the Jacobite Rebellion,” writes Perry. “His clan’s progenitor, Gillouir MacCrain, was said to have ‘kept 180 Christmasses in his own house’ as he stood against religious persecution during the witch hunts of Scotland. Gillouir’s descendants were celebrated pioneers in America, but Nathan knew none of this. Nathan was orphaned at 2 in Florida during the Second Seminole War, the nation’s largest slave uprising. Evidence suggests that Nathan and his brothers were sheltered and raised by Black Seminoles. The Third Seminole War brought Luraney into Nathan’s life.

“Luraney’s ancestor Emanuel was 8 when he was taken captive in Ndongo, Africa, in 1619 and shipped across the Atlantic in a Spanish galleon that was attacked by pirates in the Caribbean. Emanuel was among the captives smuggled into Jamestown, the birthplace of American slavery. Here, Emanuel fought to save his grandson, along with as many children of the other captives as he could, from enslavement.

“Nathan married Luraney as the Civil War was brewing. When war broke out, his unit of the Florida Coast Guard was commissioned into the Confederacy. Nathan was taken prisoner in Kentucky, escaped, and walked home to find his family starving. The toll of three wars hobbled Nathan and his descendants for three generations. But Nathan also passed down skills for living off wild Florida and a Native spirit of respect for the land that endures today.”

Published by Fulton Books, Marian McCraney Perry’s book is a powerful account that will transport readers as they follow along on Nathan’s fight for survival and freedom, and the lasting effects that his future generations felt in the wake of personal hardship and war. Deeply personal and thought-provoking, “Loss and Privilege” is a compelling look at the lingering impact of enslavement that can still be felt in America to this day, and what can be done to restore all that has been lost along the way by those affected by the stain of slavery in American history.

Readers who wish to experience this enthralling work can purchase “Loss and Privilege: Ancestral Stories of Nathan McCraney and Luraney Driggers” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

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