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.

The set up for this story is phenomenal! I have added it to my MUST Read list of 2024 and even suggested it to family and friends who like to watch shows with family drama. If there is to be a show or movie in place I would not be surprised! This was truly a story to be reckoned with. There are many tropes that coincide with issues within the black community and I honestly can’t rave enough about how it is addressed here.

I love a good family saga. Long After We Are Gone starts with the death of King Solomon and his four adult children coming back together. Each of them has their own secrets and challenges that the others aren’t aware of and they quickly learn that their family home and the 200 acres it sits on are at risk of being taken by developers.

I really enjoyed learning the stories of the four different siblings and seeing how the story all came together. However at times I wish the author had trusted us to understand more subtlety - I felt like some situations and characters were really over exaggerated. I would have been more along for the ride if there was some more nuance at points. I really loved the last few lines and how it brought it all together.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

When King Solomon passed away, his last words are, "Don't let the white man take the house." As each of his four children return home with their own struggles and secrets, the difficulty of this request becomes apparent. Since the property has been passed on as heir property a legal loophole may mean they can't fulfill their Dad's last request! Each of the siblings is wrestling with some big issues and they have their reasons for fighting.
I enjoyed a lot about this book, the writing style, the multiple points of view, and what I learned about the issue of heir property. However, it lost stars for me because I wasn't able to root for the main characters. I understand needing flawed characters and trying to gain redemption... But i think it was too much. Some of the actions at the end were so out of character and without realistic consequences.
It was an interesting read, and had some major issues that need to be discussed, but I wish I had someone to root for. But, maybe that's what also made it realistic, there isn't always a hero in life.
This one was published earlier this month, so if it peaks your interest, go check it out!

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with this ARC to read.
#NetGalley #LongAfterWeAreGone

This deeply immersive family drama unfolds in Diggs, NC, where the Solomon siblings – Junior, Mance, Cece, and Tokey – reunite following the death of their father, King. As they grapple with the uncertain fate of their ancestral home, the Kingdom in Diggs, questions linger about their family's tangled history. Secrets of power, money, abuse, and blackmail surface, shrouding each sibling in mystery. Amidst the turmoil, the siblings are bound by a shared past marked by unresolved questions: the disappearance of their mother, the missing deed to their land, the sudden departure of Uncle Shad, the enigma of Tokey's appearance, and the true reason behind Cece's return home. In a narrative rich with intrigue and familial complexities, Diggs emerges as a place where hidden truths converge, beckoning the siblings to confront their past and reclaim their legacy.

I went into this book with basically no knowledge of the subject matter and was very interested in it. It sounded like a story I would be able to submerse myself into at the same time learning about an important subject matter. However, the Solomon family didn’t really have any characters that you could find yourself rooting for. They have all made terrible life choices and are a a quartet of immature siblings so unlikeable it’s hard to have compassion for those choices. And while the base of the story “heir property” in black families was what could have stood out, it was drowned out by the awful people at the center of the story.
This was a story that could have been but missed the mark. I think I see what the author was trying to go for in making the characters down on their luck, and I think the story had potential because the subject is an important one, but by the time I got to the end I really didn’t care whether or not they were able to save the land. And that’s a shame.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for this eArc in exchange for my review.

For whatver reason this book is not what I thought it to be. I will be picking it up in the future but it is not gelling with me at the moment unfortunately.

What an amazing story. I was fully engrossed in this family drama and loved the narration of the audiobook. High,y recommend, thank you for my copy.

One family. Four siblings. An ancestral home being snatched away.

In Diggs, South Carolina, sits a 200 acre property that was once known as the Solomon Plantation but is now more commonly referred to as the Kingdom. Generations of the Solomon family have lived here, struggling to make a living and provide for their families. Above all things, every family member knows the cardinal rule….they are never, ever to sell the land. When King Solomon, the current patriarch, drops dead of a heart attack without leaving a will, the Kingdom passes to his family as “heir property”, a legal construct which makes the land vulnerable to outside acquisition. King’s four children are all at an inflection point in their lives: elder son Junior is the local high school principal, married to Genesis and father of two young daughters…and is a deep-in-the-closet homosexual involved with a man named SImon; second son Mance is a carpenter like his father, has been in and out of jail given an uncontrollable violent streak, and is in a relationship with librarian Lisha with whom he has an infant son Henry who has just been diagnosed with significant deafness; daughter CeCe is a lawyer with a large firm in NYC who could not escape the impoverished small town where she was raised quickly enough, leaving behind the man she loved (Ellis)….and whose embezzlement at her law firm has been uncovered by at least one member of the firm, who is keeping it quiet in exchange for her sexual favors; and younger daughter Tokey, who lived at home with her father and is an emotional eater who has become obese. King was not an easy man to know, and had raised his children alone after the disappearance of their mother for reasons unknown years ago. The siblings are still processing his death and what it will mean to their individual struggles when they receive an eviction notice…..developers claim that they own the acreage on which their family home sits. They need to come together to fight for their inheritance, even as they disagree on what they want to do with it, and each needs to work through their problems to steer a course for the future.
This is a family saga filled with well-developed if flawed characters who are in the midst of a struggle to discover who they are, where they want their lives to lead, and how they can go about achieving those goals. They are hiding secrets from one another and the world at large, things that they feel will not be understood or accepted….but only in revealing their true selves will they be able to move forward. The narrations alternates between the four siblings, and each of their stories…..where they are, what they’ve done and why, and what crisis they confront….is carefully shared with the reader. I found the concept of heir properties to be fascinating; I had never heard of them (and suspect that I am not alone in that regard) and yet it is the leading cause of involuntary land loss for Black families, a troubling reality. I was drawn into this family’s drama from the beginning, and rooted for them to find peace and retain their inheritance throughout their struggles. Readers of authors like Terry McMillan, Celeste Ng and Caroline Leavitt (to name just a few) should treat themselves to discovering the stories at the heart of Long After We Are Gone….there is sadness and loss but also strength and redemption contained within these pages. Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me early access to this thought provoking novel.

I loved Harris's debut novel and was worried she couldn't top it, but this book is just as good. I had a little difficulty getting into it, but as it progressed, it got better and better until I was sobbing at the end.I learned a lot about how land ownership evolved for blacks after the civil war.
This is a story about family love, estrangement, and secrets. Four siblings come back to Diggs,NC when their father dies, each with their own very overwhelming problems.
Each generation of Kings owned 200 acres of land with a house they called The Kingdom.
Junior is married and a school principal with a secret. Dance is more like his father, a carpenter who loves woodworking and continually fixing the house. He has a girlfriend and a new baby who is deaf.
Cece is an attorney in NY who has been embezzling, and Tokey, the baby of the family, has a food addiction.
The ramifications of all of these problems come to a head when the siblings discover what their uncle has done to their inheritance.
The last 3rd of the book really picks up the pace as each character must come to terms with their mistakes and their futures. There is violence, there is love, and best of all, the siblings finally share all their secrets.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review.

There are books you feel “meh” about, and then there are books you feel strongly conflicted about.  This one was the latter.  I tore through it while on vacation and I really got into this generational family drama. But I also felt the violence was excessive and even glorified. Unlike Hard By a Great Forest, which was violent in a devastating way, this book seemed to equate violence with manhood.  

The story is set in North Carolina, where patriarch King has just passed away. His last words to his son are “Don’t let white men get the house.” His four children, Junior, Mance, Cecily and Tokey, reunite for his funeral and then learn that the land they grew up on is being sold to a developer.  Some of the siblings desperately need the money and want to sell, but the others are adamant that the land must stay in the family. 

The book explores the concept of property inheritance, specifically heir property, which has been common for black families in the United States. largely because they do not trust estate lawyers. Unfortunately that creates legal loopholes where it’s easier for developers to seize property, and it has been recognized as a leading cause of property loss for African-American families.

I loved the complicated nature of the siblings’ relationships with each other and with their father. They know nothing about their mother, and each sibling seems to have settled into a clear role in the family dynamic. Junior is the outcast, a school principal who was considered weak by their father. He's married but gay; he's in love with a man but afraid to come out to his family. Mance is the tough guy, who’s carrying on King's carpentry business, but his toughness has also led to a criminal record. He's trying to go straight but keeps getting sucked back in to fighting and crime. Cecily is the smart, ambitious one, a lawyer who wants nothing to do with her hometown. She's also in desperate legal trouble. Tokey, in contrast to her older sister, is the dependent one, the one who’s never left home. She's struggling with an eating disorder.

Each sibling pair has become extreme opposites, and one thing this book explores is how King as a father encouraged those divisions (though not intentionally). I think this happens to some degree among all siblings. You see your “niche” in the family and you think that’s who you are. It’s only a lot later that you come to understand that you can all be smart, strong, quiet, outgoing, etc.

This is a book with a lot of drama and emotion. The four siblings had very distinct voices and all were sympathetic despite their making some terrible decisions. But I was very troubled by some of the things that happened towards the end, which I found very hard to square with characters I had come to like. In looking at other reviews, I seem to be an outlier on this point, but I found the violence excessive and at times gratuitous. And the idea that all four siblings never once asked any questions about their mother didn't feel realistic. But there was much about this book I enjoyed and related to, and I really appreciated the complexity and the resolution of the property issue.

Note: I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley and publisher Sourcebooks Landmark.  This book published May 14, 2024.

Wow. This was a gripping, emotional family drama that I could not tear my eyes away from. Everyone is fighting their own battles as the family fights the larger battle of land loss from heir property. I appreciate how the author writes real stories of little talked about issues.

A great pick for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, dysfunctional family stories, and love, lies, and redemption.