Perish

More about the book

From a stunning new voice comes a powerful debut novel about a Black Texan family grappling with inherited trauma and intergenerational violence as they gather to say goodbye to their matriarch on her deathbed. "Bear it or perish" are the words that alter Helen Jean's life trajectory one fateful night in her cousin’s outhouse. Spanning decades, the story follows Helen Jean, the Turner family matriarch, and the ripple effects of her choices across generations, impacting her children and grandchildren. Told in alternating chapters, the narrative focuses on four family members: Julie B., who regrets her wasted youth under Helen Jean’s influence; Alex, a police officer haunted by a dark past; Jan, a mother yearning to escape Jerusalem, Texas, and its trauma; and Lydia, whose struggling marriage is affected by her inability to stay pregnant. Their reunion forces the unearthing of long-held secrets, prompting each member to confront questions of forgiveness and blame. Exploring themes of family, trauma, legacy, home, class, and race, this beautiful yet heart-wrenching novel resonates with anyone interested in the complexities of familial bonds and the ways they can be formed, maintained, or irrevocably severed.