Perish

(Hardback, Large Print Edition)

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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. 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 ways those choices have rippled across generations, from her children to hergrandchildren and beyond.

Told in alternating chapters that follow 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.

Tackling themes like family, trauma, legacy, home, class, race, and more, this beautiful yet 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.

Reviews

Praise for Perish

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.
CEsquire

"Perish [is] an important and emotional read for anyone who's had to reckon with their roots and the influence they have on their future....readers will discover their own strength and ability to move past intergenerational trauma--and embrace their roots along the way."
--BUST Magazine

"With grace and aplomb, Watkins electrifies and shatters."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

I'd be hard-pressed to say what I admire most about LaToya Watkins's debut novel--the nuanced, fully realized characters, the firmly rooted sense of place, or the author's fierce, elegant, and fearless prose. Perish is a heartrending story, urgently told, about family, trauma, and the salvific power of forgiveness and love. Helen Jean Turner and her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will linger in my heart for a long time.
Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine

LaToya Watkins writes with a gaze that is warm and compassionate, but courageous and unflinching, refusing to look away from difficulty. Perish is a resonant debut novel, a robust family story told with beautiful cadences and textures. Watkins has a wonderful heart that animates every page from beginning to end.
Jamel Brinkley, author of A Lucky Man

The love LaToya Watkins has for her characters is evident on every page of this incredibly moving debut. Read Perish with a family member.
De'Shawn Charles Winslow, author of prize-winning novel, In West Mills

LaToya Watkins is a writer of undeniable talent and her debut novel, Perish, is a piercing family drama with characters who will stay with you for a long, long time.
Regina Porter, author of The Travelers

From the early pages of this novel, I knew I was in the hands of a master storyteller. Watkins stuns in this impressive debut about how trauma travels with us across generations. This story of family and forgiveness will stay with you long after the last page.
--Nancy Johnson, author of The Kindest Lie

Author Bio

LaToya Watkins's writing has appeared in A Public Space, The Sun, McSweeney's, The Kenyon Review, The Pushcart Prize XXXIX (2015), and elsewhere. She has received grants, scholarships, and fellowships from the Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and A Public Space (she was one of their 2018 emerging writers fellows). She holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Dallas. Perish is her debut novel.