Southernmost

April 2022 - Southernmost by Silas House

Every day my friend Shelia Athens posts gratitude on Instagram. It's a great reminder to approach each day with appreciation. I owe Sheila more than a day's worth of gratitude for recommending Southernmost and for lending me her autographed copy.

Southernmost is the novel I aspire to write. It achieves everything I hope for in a good book. It immerses me in the setting, the characters, and the narration. It transports me to another world or into another life. Sometimes a book allows you to experience another culture or see things from a new perspective, but in Southernmost you are taken on a deep-dive into the familiar.

Silas House set his novel in Tennessee and Key West, Florida. Since I spent my childhood in the upstate of South Carolina and lived for a time in Florida, Southernmost was like a homecoming.

The pace of the storytelling felt like a Southern drawl, comfortable and familiar. The language and the sentiment invited you in, and the characters were family and neighbors.

The novel captures a sense of place, both in the rush of the Cumberland River in Tennessee and in the magic of the ocean at night. You don't merely see the landscapes that Silas House describes, you connect to them. You remember those moments in your life when the beauty of the fall leaves inspired wonder or the moonlight on the waves took your breath, or the peach tint of a sunrise reminded you of the presence of God.

Southernmost tackles hard choices and asks difficult questions about parenting, societal issues, religion, love, family, death, and kindness. It reminds us that our children can be wise and that our good intentions don't guarantee good results.

The main character, Asher Sharp, has to make a choice. How can he do what's right by his wife, his son, his church, and his God? It seems as if, no matter what he decides, the outcome could be as devastating as the flood that rips through the valley. Regret from his actions in the past forces Asher to take a different path.

Asher's young son, Justin, has the wisdom of Buddha. If Asher listens closely, he will teach him how to parent. And Bell, the owner of the Key West Inn, provides a place of respite, free of judgment, where Asher can recover and gain strength to do the right thing.

Southernmost reassures us and restores our faith in humanity. It's a novel that reminds us to breathe and offers us a mantra.

Olivia, bougainvillea, iguana.

Pick up SOUTHERNMOST from your local bookstore, recommend it to your book club, and get grateful by following Sheila Athens on Instagram @sheilaathensauthor.