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Long After We Are Gone Summary and Reviews

Long After We Are Gone

A Novel

by Terah Shelton Harris

Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris X
Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris
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  • Publishes
    May 14, 2024
    432 pages
    Genre: Literary Fiction

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Book Summary

An explosive and emotional story of four siblings―each fighting their own personal battle―who return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them, from the author of One Summer in Savannah.

"Don't let the white man take the house."

These are the last words King Solomon says to his son before he dies. Now all four Solomon siblings must return to North Carolina to save the Kingdom, their ancestral home and 200 acres of land, from a development company, who has their sights set on turning the valuable waterfront property into a luxury resort.

While fighting to save the Kingdom, the siblings must also save themselves from the secrets they've been holding onto. Junior, the oldest son and married to his wife for 11 years, is secretly in love with another man. Second son, Mance, can't control his temper, which has landed him in prison more than once. CeCe, the oldest daughter and a lawyer in New York City, has embezzled thousands of dollars from her firm's clients. Youngest daughter, Tokey, wonders why she doesn't seem to fit into this family, which has left an aching hole in her heart that she tries to fill in harmful ways. As the Solomons come together to fight for the Kingdom, each of their façades begins to crumble and collide in unexpected ways.

Told in alternating viewpoints, Long After We Are Gone is a searing portrait on the power of family and letting go of things that no longer serve you, exploring the burden of familial expectations, the detriment of miscommunication, and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
    These questions include spoilers. Do not read until after you've finished the book.

  1. What do you think each of the siblings' different reactions to the passing of their father says about them? What do you think it says about grief in general?
  2. How did each of the four siblings grow and change through- out the course of the book?
  3. The Department of Agriculture calls heir property the lead- ing cause of Black land loss in the U.S. Were you familiar with the concept of heir property before you read this book? What is your take on it?
  4. Was there one sibling whose story or struggles particularly resonated with you?
  5. Junior's inner man and outer man are constantly battling each other. Do you sometimes feel like a different person on the ...
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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A big, beautiful, devastating, and ultimately hopeful novel." ―Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of No Two Persons

"Explosive and emotionally charged." ―Etaf Rum, New York Times bestselling author of A Woman is No Man and Evil Eye

"A tour de force of history, injustice, and the brutal, beautiful everlasting ties of family." ―Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author ofThe House Girl and The Last Romantics

This information about Long After We Are Gone was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Terah Shelton Harris Author Biography

Terah Shelton Harris is an author, librarian, and former freelance writer who now writes upmarket fiction with bittersweet endings. Her novels to date are One Summer in Savannah (July 2023) and Long After We Are Gone (May 2024). As a freelancer, her work has appeared in consumer and trade magazines including Catapult, Women's Health, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and more.

Originally from Illinois, she now lives in Alabama with her husband, Jamel. Terah is a lover of life and spends most of her time reading or traveling. A world traveler, Terah has visited over 40 countries across six continents. She has watched the sunrise at the beginning of America, trekked through the jungles in the Bokeo Nature Reserve, searched for William Clark's grave in St. Louis, and much more. Find her online ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Terah Shelton Harris's Website

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