Description

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A searing Southern story about confronting the difference between the family you're born into and the family you choose, from the acclaimed author of How to Bury Your Brother

Lex fled Memphis years ago, making ends meet with odd jobs teaching English around the world. She only returns when she has no choice, when her godmother presents her with a bargain she can't refuse. Lex has never understood her mother, who died tragically right before Lex's college graduation, but now she's got a chance to read her journals, to try and figure out what sent her mother spiraling all those years ago.

The Memphis that Lex inhabits is more bourbon and bbq joint than sweet tea on front porches, and as she pieces together the Memphis her mother knew, seeing the lure of the world through her mother's lush writing, she must confront more of her own past and the people she left behind. Once all is laid bare, Lex must decide for herself: What is the true meaning of family?

About the Author

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Lindsey Rogers Cook is the author of two novels, How to Bury Your Brother and Learning to Speak Southern. She works at The New York Times as a senior editor for digital storytelling and training and graduated from the University of Georgia. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with her husband and a small zoo of rescue animals.

Praise For…

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"Women’s fiction lovers won’t be able to put down this story of transformation, coming-of-age and the true meaning of family. Lindsey Rogers Cook has hit her stride!" — Kristy Woodson Harvey, USA Today bestselling author of Feels Like Falling

"A quick and intimate read...Readers of Southern and women’s fiction will become deeply immersed in this mother-daughter narrative." —

"Evoking the south in language as rich as the mystical landscape, Lindsey Cook has confirmed her place in the lexicon of Southern Fiction. We meet Lex as she is at the edge of losing everything but her beloved love of words, language and how they shape our lives. You will dwell deeply in the lyrical narrative of Learning to Speak Southern and you will not want to leave. Imaginative, immersive and beautifully intense, this is your new favorite read!" — Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Surviving Savannah