Berry Robinson never wanted to make this trip. Her father is dead, shot in South Africa where he worked as an activist, and her mother insists they attend his memorial service. Berry carries anger like a stone in her chest. She blames her father for choosing his causes over his family. She blames her mother for dragging her halfway around the world to mourn a man who was barely present in their lives. In Johannesburg, Berry meets other families torn apart by violence. She walks through townships where loss lives in every corner. The weight of so many tragedies threatens to crush her, but slowly Berry begins to understand something about her father's work and his death. She discovers that grief shared becomes something different than grief carried alone. The stones of anger she has collected might not disappear, but they can be transformed into something else entirely.
Genres: fiction, african-american, coming-of-age, contemporary, activism, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief
Setting: Johannesburg, South Africa
Content warnings: death, violence