"LaToya Watkins's Perish follows four members of the Turner clan: Julie B., a woman who regrets her wasted youth and the time spent under Helen Jean's thumb; Alex, a police officer grappling with a dark and twisted past; Jan, mother of two, who yearns to go to school and leave Jerusalem and all of its trauma behind for good; And Lydia, a woman whose marriage is falling apart because her body can't seem to stay pregnant; as they're called home to say goodbye to their mother and grandmother, Helen Jean. Told through alternating chapters, and set in a vividly drawn, tight-knit rural, Black Texan community, Perish explores the effects of inherited trauma and intra-generational violence and pain as the family's "reunion" unearths long-kept secrets and forces each member to ask themselves important questions about who is deserving of forgiveness and who bears the cross of blame. With powerful, sharp prose and a sense of place that is wholly immersive, offering a nuanced look into black communites in Texas, this beautiful yet heart-wrenching debut novel will pull you in and drop you into the world LaToya has masterfully crafted within the pages"-- Provided by publisher.

In a tight-knit, rural Black Texan community of Jerusalem, the Turner clan comes together as the family says good-bye to their matriarch on her deathbed. The family's "reunion" unearths long-kept secrets: Julie regrets her wasted youth and the time spent under Helen Jean's thumb; police offier Alex grapples with a dark and twisted past; Jan yearns to go leave her children--and Jerusalem-- behind for good; Lydia's marriage is falling apart because her body can't seem to stay pregnant. Each will ask themselves important questions about who is deserving of forgiveness and who bears the cross of blame. -- adapted from jacket