First published 2009
Bud Morrison has worked the waters off South Carolina for decades, his shrimp boat a familiar sight in their small coastal village. Carolina has stood by him for thirty years of marriage, watching the industry that built their community slowly decline. When Bud's boat fails to return one ordinary morning, the entire town mobilizes for a desperate search. As rescue boats comb the waters, Carolina waits on shore, memories flooding back of better times when shrimp boats filled the harbor and their marriage was young. The search stretches through the day, each passing hour revealing more about Bud and Carolina's shared history. Their story unfolds against the backdrop of a vanishing way of life, where family boats are sold off and old captains retire without successors. Monroe weaves together past and present as the community races against time. This is a story about endurance in marriage and the bonds that hold small towns together when crisis strikes.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: endurance, found-family
Setting: South Carolina
Period: 20th-century
384 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books