Long After We Are Gone

An explosive and emotional story of four siblings--each fighting their own personal battle--who return home in the wake of their father's death in order to save their family's home from being sold out from under them, from the author of One Summer in Savannah.

"Don't let the white man take the house."

These are the last words King Solomon says to his son before he dies. Now all four Solomon siblings must return to North Carolina to save the Kingdom, their ancestral home and 200 acres of land, from a development company, who has their sights set on turning the valuable waterfront property into a luxury resort.

While fighting to save the Kingdom, the siblings must also save themselves from the secrets they've been holding onto. Junior, the oldest son and married to his wife for 11 years, is secretly in love with another man. Second son, Mance, can't control his temper, which has landed him in prison more than once. CeCe, the oldest daughter and a lawyer in New York City, has embezzled thousands of dollars from her firm's clients. Youngest daughter, Tokey, wonders why she doesn't seem to fit into this family, which has left an aching hole in her heart that she tries to fill in harmful ways. As the Solomons come together to fight for the Kingdom, each of their façades begins to crumble and collide in unexpected ways.

Told in alternating viewpoints, Long After We Are Gone is a searing portrait on the power of family and letting go of things that no longer serve you, exploring the burden of familial expectations, the detriment of miscommunication, and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Sourcebooks.

Book club questions for Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

What do you think each of the siblings’ different reactions to the passing of their father says about them? What do you think it says about grief in general?

How did each of the four siblings grow and change throughout the course of the book?

The Department of Agriculture calls heir property the leading cause of Black land loss in the U.S. Were you familiar with the concept of heir property before you read this book? What is your take on it?

Was there one sibling whose story or struggles particularly resonated with you?

Junior’s inner man and outer man are constantly battling each other. Do you sometimes feel like a different person on the inside than you are on the outside?

Why do you think CeCe was so reluctant to give in to her love for Ellis? What held her back?

Why do you think Mance had such trouble accepting that his son, Henry, is deaf?

Why do you think Mance was so reticent to hold his son?

Tokey feels like an outsider in her own family. Did you ever feel that way in your own family?

Why do you think King didn’t tell his children the truth about what happened to their mother?

How do you see the effects of intergenerational trauma playing out among each of the characters? Do you think they were successful in breaking the “Solomon curse”?

Each of the siblings makes some pretty questionable choices. Do you think they all redeem themselves in the end?

Long After We Are Gone Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Long After We Are Gone discussion questions

"A big, beautiful, devastating, and ultimately hopeful novel." --Erica Bauermeister, New York Times bestselling author of No Two Persons

"Explosive and emotionally charged." --Etaf Rum, New York Times bestselling author of A Woman is No Man and Evil Eye

"A tour de force of history, injustice, and the brutal, beautiful everlasting ties of family." --Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The House Girl and The Last Romantics