Perish

A Novel

By: LaToya Watkins

Narrated by: Jeremy Michael Durm, Keyonni James, Chanté McCormick, Lisa Renee Pitts, Kacie Rogers

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

"Watkins’s prose is effortless and forthright. . .This is an impressive feat of storytelling. . .It’s a difficult read and a tender story of silences and secrets. It’s a novel about coming home, despite that home being broken. And it’s a brave triumph of a novel that readers won’t forget long after finishing it."—New York Times Book Review

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Good Morning America * Essence* Esquire * The Root * Bustle * Ebony * PopSugar * Ms. * The Millions

From a stunning new voice comes a powerful debut novel, Perish, about a Black Texan family, exploring the effects of inherited trauma and intergenerational violence as the family comes together to say goodbye to their matriarch on her deathbed.

Bear it or perish yourself. Those are the words Helen Jean hears that fateful night in her cousin’s outhouse that change the trajectory of her life.

Spanning decades, Perish tracks the choices Helen Jean—the matriarch of the Turner family—makes and the way those choices have rippled across generations, from her children to her grandchildren and beyond.

Told in alternating chapters, Perish follows four members of the Turner family: 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, a mother of two who yearns to go to school and leave Jerusalem, Texas, 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.

This 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.

Set in vividly drawn Texas and tackling themes like trauma, legacy, faith, home, class, race, and more, this beautiful yet heart heart-wrenching novel will appeal to anyone who is interested in the intricacies of family and the ways bonds can be made, maintained, or irrevocably broken.

©2022 LaToya Watkins (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

*A Black Caucus of the American Library Association Honor Book for Fiction*

*Named one of BookBub’s “16 Books to Read Over Labor Day Weekend” and Ebony's “Books by Black Authors That Should Be on Your Fall Reading List”*

*Featured in Refinery 29's “As A Young Black Mom, These Are The Books I Want To Pass Along To My Daughter”*

"Watkins’s prose is effortless and forthright. . .This is an impressive feat of storytelling. . .A tender story of silences and secrets. It’s a novel about coming home, despite that home being broken. And it’s a brave triumph of a novel that readers won’t forget long after finishing it."—New York Times Book Review

“Though painful, this beautifully crushing experiment in empathy and brokenness is worth experiencing. Watkins and Tiny Reparations Books have made a bold statement with Perish and will both be worth watching for what comes next.”—Associated Press

"Perish offers a moving look into Black communities, bringing complexity and nuance to this story of intergenerational trauma and the toll it takes on the human spirit. But for all the secrets, resentments, and bitterness here, Watkins has generosity of spirit enough to entertain the possibility of forgiveness; miraculous and moving, light glimmers at the edges of this wise novel."—Esquire

Stick with it.

The beginning was a little confusing because the storytelling was in the past and present and I was still learning the characters. After I learned the characters I was able to just enjoy the story.

Powerful Story

I felt all types of emotions while listening to this book. There were times that I felt I would not be able to finish it but I am glad I did. The only complaint I had was that it was hard up follow at times with so many characters and time changes but overall this was a fascinating read. This is a story about generational curses and how important it is to tell the truth even when it’s difficult. It pains me to think about the lack of options we had in the black community for mental health issues.

Shocking

The truth will set you Free ! Book was gut, wrenching! What abusive can do to a family

Intense, but good

It is an intense story. It was a little hard to follow since the story line jumps from character to character. Comes together in the end. All and all, well done.

The truth will set you free

This book isn’t just a book it’s a telling of the generational cures that many families suffer from, the secrets, the pain, the trauma in this book is all so real. I gasped, I cried, my heart broke over and over while listening to this book, but I also grew, I have a better understanding of how lies and secrets are the undoing of many & how the truth will truly set you free. A must read. BRAVO 👏🏽

Are You Kidding me?

although I know this is a lot of people's story, and I truly hate that anyone who has had to live through this. The ending gave no resolution and for that I gave it two stars smh as black people we have to talk more and address the things that our past holds if not no healing can take place.

Watkins is a force

I just finished Perish on Audible, and I’m broken and healed all at once. What a powerful family saga, and how honestly written! Somehow this author was able to bring us to the depths of hell and pull us back to the surface again so we can breathe. I am so honored to have read this story and witnessed the journey of these women to redemption and love.

The Devil You Already Know

These kinds of stories have me on the edge. Family secrets are the worst kinds of secrets because they are ours to keep to avoid disgracing or embarrassing ourselves and family. I don’t have any myself, but knowing they’re out there and reading about the secrets of this family reminds us that the darkest dark is often the devil we already know.

listened twice...great performance

In the beginning it was very confusing as to who was whom, and who did what to whom, which is why I listened twice. But the story line was relevant to what could be true in so many families. Great performance by the narrators.

Loved it

Loved it so much- gifted to to two people listened to it again myself and have tried unsuccessfully to tell the story numerous times. Excellent. Captivating