"Long After We Are Gone" by Terah Shelton Harris is a compelling and evocative exploration of family, secrets, and redemption. The novel centers around the Solomon siblings, who return to their North Carolina home, known as “The Kingdom,” following their father’s unexpected death to save their ancestral land from being sold. Their father's last words, “Don't let the white man take The Kingdom,” set the stage for a powerful family drama.

The characters in this novel are incredibly relatable and endearing, each with their own set of flaws and vulnerabilities. I couldn't help but like them all, despite their imperfections and the questionable choices they sometimes made. Junior, the eldest, is secretly in love with another man despite being married. Mance, the second son, struggles with his temper and legal troubles. CeCe, the eldest daughter, faces the consequences of embezzling money from her firm’s clients. Tokey, the youngest, grapples with her sense of belonging and harmful coping mechanisms. Each sibling's struggle is depicted with sensitivity and depth, making their journeys both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Ellis, who was treated like one of the siblings, was a voice of reason and an anchor for the siblings.

Harris masterfully tells the story through alternating viewpoints, giving each sibling a voice and a chance to reveal their deepest secrets and struggles.

The novel is a searing portrait of the power of family and the importance of letting go of things that no longer serve us. It explores the burden of familial expectations and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a deeply emotional read. ( )

King Solomon has died suddenly at his family home, dubbed the Kingdom. The Kingdom is an heir property, family land jointly owned by descendants of a deceased person from the time the Solomon family worked the land as slaves. Now, King's children, Junior, Mance, Tokey and Cece return to the Kingdom to deal with King's death, each carrying a heavy secret of their own. The siblings learn that the Kingdom comes with a complicated path forward as large corporations swoop in on vague legalities to take the Kingdom's land. While trying to save their home, each sibling is also trying to save themselves. Junior is finally figuring out his sexuality while trying not to alienate the family he has built. Mance is dealing with his aggression while learning of his son's disability. Tokey is fighting an eating disorder while wondering why she doesn't quite fit in with her family. Cece is worrying about the consequences she will have to face from embezzling thousands of dollars from her law firm's clients. Each sibling will have to face their individual problems in order to move ahead with saving the Kingdom.

Long After We Are Gone is an emotional family drama. Told from alternating points of view of each sibling, the characters, their secrets and how they work through them take center stage. I do wish there was a better delineation between each sibling's viewpoint through each chapter. I was very interested in heir properties and how families used this to keep their property within the family only for it to become a tenuous legal situation down the road, one more issue keeping land from African American families. I was very interested in how each of the siblings dealt with their problems in secret while having strong family bonds. I didn't particularly care for more than one sibling more than another and they weren't particularly sympathetic characters, however, they were very realistic and each had interesting journeys. Long After We Are Gone examines how secrets can create larger problems and feed into generational trauma.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )