Lisbeth Gordon is a school counselor. After the sudden death of her husband, she returns to South Carolina. She becomes swept up in her aunt's tales of the past and especially during the Civil War. She ends up in Rio de Janeiro and meets people with the same surnames as her family. She discovers a connection and the path is filled with laughter and tears. I enjoyed this book.

I was given an ARC by the publisher for an honest review. The style of writing was very offputting and I found it very difficult to enjoy the book. It was very specific at times about America's history which as a non-American i found difficult.

I am a fan of "Finding Your Roots" and this particular novel reminded me of that program. After losing her husband she finds there are many secrets she was not aware of. Taking a job in Brazil, she comes across a person with the same last name...thus the journey begins. Interesting how much "genealogy" can give you answers to the past, gives you a second chance and opens up doors that have been closed for so long. I enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to friends and family. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating book about families and southern history. Wonderful descriptions of Charleston and areas around it. I do hope that I can get back there someday.

When a woman looses her husband suddenly and returns to Folly Island, South Carolina to regroup and begin again, she rediscovers her family history and her roots to the Civil War in Charleston. What begins as genealogy search leads her to her lost relatives in Brazil. I knew that many southern relocated to Brazil after the Civil War and the author does a wonderful job with this history.

I will recommend to my friends, etc. However, I don't think my library will be purchasing this book, I will recommend that they do so.

This is a wonderful story of family members known and unknown to each other. Lisbeth is shocked by the sudden death of her husband, but even more surprised by the things she finds out that he had been doing for several years before his demise.

She decides to move back to South Carolina from Washington to get a fresh start and to spend time with her cousin Charlotte. After deciding she wants to know more about her family heritage she decides to do some digging. She eventually accepts a job in Brazil and finds even more family there.
The author does a great job describing the low country and also the beautiful parts of Brazil.

Exiled South opens with a wife’s worst nightmare, when Lizbeth Gordon loses her husband, then discovers he kept important secrets from her. Seeking escape from the gossips and a chance to grieve and start fresh, she self-exiles from the Pacific Northwest to a place full of sweet memories from her childhood, coastal South Carolina.

As she reconnects with her family and learns more of her genealogy and connection to local history, she’s drawn into other long forgotten secrets, including a connection to slavery she’d rather not explore.

Determined to set history aside and achieve that fresh start she so desires, Lizbeth takes a job at an international school in Brazil, only to discover that family ties reach across continents and may bring more surprises.

Cannon’s detailed descriptions of the South Carolina coast are enchanting, and lovers of the American South and history buffs will appreciate the intricately conceived family history and timeline.

I appreciated the escapism of the parts of the novel set in Brazil, and found its structure innovative, where parts of the book are written in an epistolary structure, told through letters from the 1800s.

Overall, Exiled South captures the sweetness of second starts, finding lost family and with its focus on family history will appeal to readers who appreciate genealogy and heritage stories.