LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE

‘A rhapsodic hymn to Black women’ – New York Times Book Review

‘Epic yet intimate’ – Cosmopolitan

‘Ferocious and compassionate’ – Irish Times

FAMILY CAN HOLD YOU TOGETHER. AND TEAR YOU APART.

Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn’t remember the bustle of Beale Street or the smell of honeysuckle as she climbs the porch steps to her aunt’s house. But when the front door opens, she does remember her cousin Derek.

As Joan learns more about her family’s past she discovers she’s not the only North woman to have experienced great hurt. But she also sees their resilience and courage, how these extraordinary women fry green tomatoes and braid hair and sing all the while.