The author of One Summer in Savannah returns with an emotional novel exploring family relationships and generational trauma.
Terah Shelton Harris's marvelous family drama Long After We Are Gone begins with the death of the Solomon family patriarch, King, whose last words are "don't let the white man take the house." As his four adult children return to the farm that their ancestors have occupied for generations, they discover how difficult it will be to fulfill King's wish. The 200-acre parcel has been passed down over the years as heir property — a system whereby all legal heirs receive an equal interest in the land (see Beyond the Book). Because King had no will, developers are challenging the family's ownership of the valuable waterfront property.

Complicating matters is the fact that each of the four siblings feels differently about the homestead. Mance, for example, maintains a deep connection to it ("He loves this land because his father does. It provides a sense of belonging…He isn't from this land; he is of this land"). His sister, CeCe, on the other hand, has no desire to retain the property ("The humid air stinks of minimum wage and food stamps, of fried food and bad decisions"). For the eldest, Junior, being home brings painful memories, while Tokey, the youngest, hopes being in their childhood house together will create a sense of family she's never known.

Although the property dispute provides the bones of the story, at its heart are its four main characters. Each is beautifully drawn and unique, coming into the novel harboring painful secrets that they're unwilling to share with the people who should love them unconditionally. Separated by age and temperament, they all feel isolated from the others in their own ways. As the book begins they've individually hit crises unrelated to King's death, aching to reach a point where their lives are stable — and the pain of each situation is palpable. In one instance, Mance is contemplating his infant son, who's been born deaf:

"It astounds Mance that this tiny person already means more to him than anyone else does. That one day he existed when the day before he did not. How instantly parental love materializes. A fierce desire to protect him flooded Mance when he first held him in his arms…Yet he struggles to accept him as he is. He struggles to make sense of such feelings. The two emotions grate against each other and torment him, fracturing his breath and massaging his heart."

The siblings are all deeply flawed but so relatable that they feel like friends rather than characters in a book. One can't help but root for them to overcome their challenges and for the estranged family to heal. The story rotates its point of view between the four, so readers get to know them all intimately, strengthening the connection to them even more.

Beyond the injustices of racism and heir property, Harris explores other issues that might arise in any family (violence, homophobia, disability, eating disorders). Perhaps most crucially, she illustrates how trauma is passed down through families, generation after generation, and considers how one might break the destructive cycle. I appreciated the way the author dealt with these sensitive subjects, subtly examining them without allowing her message to become overbearing.

The book is fast-paced, and I found it hard to put down. There are a few over-the-top scenes that, critically speaking, one might consider unworthy of such an otherwise outstanding work; they explode with improbable action more fitting of popular cinema than fine literature. I have to admit, though, I found them exceptionally satisfying; while implausible, they still feel right for the moment, and will leave many readers cheering.

Overall, I felt Long After We Are Gone to be a sensitive exploration of heir property and family dynamics, and I heartily recommend it to a broad audience. The novel's many themes and relatable characters make it a great choice for book clubs.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download the file prior to it being archived and have no gotten a chance to read it. I hope to read it in the future.

Final rating 3.5. I really enjoyed Terah's first book so I was happy to pick this one up.

The theme/subject that I think was well explored here was that of Black land ownership, specifically in the south, and the capitalistic and racist reasons that has been such a struggle historically. It added a layer of social commentary to the story that I found very interesting and poignant.

I also think that considering the number of characters in the book, there was pretty decent character development and the characters were pretty layered.

My biggest gripe with this book is that it felt like too many voices and that took away from it. I think the multiple POV did not work here. It made the story harder to follow and frankly there were some POVs that I didn't really need or care about. I think if the storytelling was bit more focused that this would be a 5 star read.

Long After We Are Gone written by Terah Shelton Harris is a lesson in history and an incredible novel. I had never heard of heir property….land that has been in family’s possession for hundreds of years, passed down. “It’s not recognized as “the worst problem you never heard of” or the “the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture without justification. In Long After We Are Gone, Ms. Harris shines a light on this issue and how certain laws, policies, and loopholes continue to dispossess families of their land.” But, this family refuses, finds strength and togetherness in their sisters and brothers and they fight back!
I LOVED THIS BOOK! Ms. Harris! Thank you for the education!

I had such high hopes for this one after I LOVED her first book. This one however I struggled to finish. I wanted to DNF this book just about from the beginning but stuck it out. Sadly it didn’t get better and the narrator pronouncing “th” as an f was way too much for me to handle.

After the patriarch dies the Solomon siblings come together to fight for Kingdom, the walls each one has put up, slowly begin to crumble and the real Junior, Mance, CeCe and Tokey are revealed. The narrative includes topics such as inter-generational trauma, secrets, making bad choices, the burden of family expectations, and lack of communication and not telling the truth, deafness in children and treatment options, the shame of being gay and overeating, blackmail, extortion, and workplace misconduct.

What a beautiful, gripping, raw, emotional tale Terah Shelton Harris gave us in "Long After We Are Gone."

When a father, King Solomon, passes away, his children come together to pay their respects and to decide what to do about the Kingdom. The Solomon siblings quickly find out that they are actually trying to save the Kingdom but, in order to do so, they must first save themselves from their own demons.

I adored reading this book even with the heart-wrenching way Terah described the battles - internally and externally - that each character must face. Some parts were hard to read but I think that was 100% intentional. The siblings showed us that figuring out life isn't always as easy as writing a check or as sweet as strawberry rolls and sometimes we have to get dirty to bury our past but we must keep moving forward, one step at a time.

I'm so thankful to have had the chance to read this book!

I will definitely be recommending it when friends are in the market for a deeper, emotional drama.

Brava, Terah! Thank you!

A story about one family’s legacy and fight to hold onto their Kingdom, formerly the Solomon plantation that their family once worked as slaves and now own. The patriarch drives the story but it’s his and his adult children, who are so different from one another, and their lives that are intertwined in the details and give the breath and flavor to the plot. Interesting and slippery laws that allow the rich to buy the land belonging to the poor out from under them and when so much is ‘stitched together by lies’ things start unraveling quickly. You’ll be rooting for the Solomons, both to keep their land, and to find themselves amidst the chaos.

This is a well written story that takes place in North Carolina. A family that has owned land for many generations is now facing losing that land their ancestors had purchased. After the death of their father, King, the siblings are informed that their land no longer belongs to them. The home that they grew up in is now sitting on someone else's land. While they are dealing with their father's death they are told to vacate their home. Each of King's children must put aside their personal issues and work together as a family.

The author does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life while also enlightening readers on the important issue of heir property. I was not aware of the laws and policies that allowed the property to be taken from families and was sadden to hear that there have been many cases where this has happened.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This book was amazing. It was a little slow in the beginning but this family drama, redemption book was just what I needed to get out of my book slump!

The writing was like pure poetry. The characters were amazingly well written and we get all the siblings POV and it was quite the ride. Once I got going, I couldn't stop turning the pages.

This book had it all!

4.5 stars!! Thank you to @netgalley and @bookmarked for my gifted copy

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me read the advanced ebook in exchange for my honest review.

The book was just alright to me. The premise of the book was emotional and heart breaking which was my expectation. However, it did not live up to her other books. I didnt like all the characters and the plot was alright. I will read hed books in the future. This book just was not my favorite.

The author masterfully unravels the intricate threads of family bonds, secrets and redemption. The prose is lyrical and raw with alternating viewpoints. It is all about family.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the story of 4 siblings who come together after their father's unexpected death. They believe they are heirs to the Kingdom - a 200 acre parcel of land with their homestead which has been in the family for 200 years.
The book progresses via each dysfunctional sibling's point of view as they fight for their inheritance.
The book slowly reveals the secrets and lies they tell themselves and each other and the challenges they have within their lives.
Rather than focus on the order to vacate which has been given them, they gear up to fight the court battle to contest their house because it is "Heir Property" - property given to former enslaved people to homestead, which without signed deeds, can be taken from them involuntarily. At the same time, land developers are very interested in this undeveloped land. Among those interested in the property is their father's brother - who had previously bought 5 acres and wants to have more.
The book was filled with unlikable characters and I thought the author of this character driven novel delved too much into the challenges that each one had, rather than develop the plot and the fight for their property.
There was little plot development, in my opinion, and very little depth to their challenges , and very little happening in the story until the final 20% when the action really built up. I thought there were too many intimate sex scenes which neither advanced the plot nor enhanced the narrative. These factors lead me to rate this book 3.5 stars.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinions given are my own.

I read Terah Shelton Harris's book One Summer in Savannah and really enjoyed it, so was excited for Long After We Are Gone. The new book is also very good. If you were a fan of the show Queen Sugar, run and grab this book. It's a emotional and explosive family story, with many flawed, but good-hearted characters. There are plenty of family secrets and reasons why the characters act the way they do. I learned quite a bit about heir property.

This book follows the story of four, somewhat estranged, siblings that come together after their father’s unexpected death to save The Kingdom. The Kingdom is a 200 acre piece of land that has been in their family for 200 year and passed down to the heirs of each generation that some may say is cursed. I loved the four different POV from each siblings with each of their lies and secrets coming to light as the story progresses. I had a hard time starting this book only because of life things on my end but once I was into it I didn’t want to put it down. This was my first book from this author but I have already put a hold on “One Summer in Savannah”.

I was so excited to read this book after loving the summer in savannnah. Harris has once again written an explosive and thought-provoking story with both likable and very unlikable characters.

Another DNF for me :( - I listened on audio and didn't love the narrators. I had a really difficult time trying to get into this one despite enjoying the author's debut and loving the hard of hearing/deaf disability rep. Perhaps a book better read in print or just not one for me at this time. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review an early digital copy.

this book was slow for me. this is my first book by this author, so it may just be their storytelling. it was good, but i feel like i needed it to really suck me in and that didn't happen. i did enjoy getting each pov from each of the children, and was impressed on how the author juggled them all and the book didn't ever become confusing. it read very smoothly and worked well. i also appreciated the themes that were represented in this storyline. the fact of their land being taken from them and sold and this being a common issue among African American families. it was terrible, but also eye opening for me as i did not realize that was a common occurrence.

Such flawed but real characters. I enjoyed every moment of this journey to healing for this family. Thank you for showing that family should be unconditional and accepting.

I love a good messy family drama and this novel has the mess. The family in the novel consists of 4 siblings: 2 brothers, 2 sisters. Their father dies unexpectedly and the siblings learn about family secrets. Some are past secrets and some are current. While the secrets are being exposed, greedy land developers are trying to get the family’s land through loopholes in heir property laws.

I read the author’s debut novel, One Summer in Savannah. There is progression in the author’s writing from the first to the second novel. In this novel, she artfully writes intimate and romantic scenes in this novel in a way that was not present in the first book. The foreshadowing of the secrets that would be revealed was top tier.