Walking in Tall Weeds
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From award-winning author Robin W. Pearson comes a new Southern family drama about one family who discovers their history is only skin-deep and that God’s love is the only family tie that binds.
Paulette and Fred Baldwin find themselves wading through a new season of life in Hickory Grove, North Carolina. Their only son, McKinley, now works hundreds of miles away, and the distance between the husband and wife feels even farther. When their son returns home, his visit dredges up even more conflict between Fred and Paulette.
McKinley makes it no secret that he doesn’t intend to follow in his father’s footsteps at George & Company Fine Furnishings or otherwise. Fred can’t quite bring himself to accept all his son’s choices, yet Paulette is determined McKinley will want for nothing, least of all a mother’s love and attention—which her own skin color cost her as a child. But all her striving leaves Fred on the outside looking in.
Paulette suspects McKinley and Fred are hiding something that could change the whole family. Soon, she’s facing a whirlwind she never saw coming, and the three of them must dig deep to confront the truth. Maybe then they’ll discover that their history is only skin-deep while their faith can take them right to the heart of things.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pearson (‘Til I Want No More) delivers a poignant portrait of a Black family at a crossroads as they deal with long simmering racial tensions. Paulette Baldwin is going through a late midlife crisis, and her relationship with her husband, Fred, has become strained. Fred has long worked for a furniture company run by the white George family, with whom the Black Baldwin family have a difficult history going back decades. Fred obsesses over getting justice for the racism his ancestors endured at the hands of earlier generations of Georges, but Paulette urges him to forgive and focus on their future. She rejoices when her son McKinley comes home for a rare visit, but her excitement cools when she discovers that he intends to propose to Emmeline George, daughter of the Georges and McKinley's childhood friend. Then things get worse after Paulette learns that Fred has secretly used their savings to take over the Georges' company. To make it through the crisis as a family, the Baldwins must learn "to love—and forgive—the way Jesus loved and forgave." Pearson skillfully captures the complexity of family dynamics and the ways racism's scars persist across generations, but the neat resolution feels pat and unearned. Still, there's lots to chew on. Pearson's fans will appreciate this.
