House's most popular novel is a stunning story about judgment, courage, heartbreak, and change. In the aftermath of a flood that washes away much of a small Tennessee town, evangelical preacher Asher Sharp offers shelter to two gay men. In doing so, he starts to see his life anew—and risks losing everything: his wife, locked into her religious prejudices; his congregation, which shuns Asher after he delivers a passionate sermon in defense of tolerance; and his young son, Justin, caught in the middle of what turns into a bitter battle. With no way out but ahead, Asher takes Justin and flees to Key West, where he hopes to find his brother, Luke, whom he’d turned against years ago after Luke came out. And it is there, at the southernmost point of the country, that Asher and Justin discover a new way of thinking about the world, and a new way of understanding love. Southernmost is a tender and affecting book, a meditation about love and its consequences in a quickly changing America. Acclaimed by writers such as Dorothy Allison, Garth Greenwell, Charles Frazier, Jennifer Haigh, and many others, Southernmost is one of the essential books of understanding the South as it is today: a changing place, full of both heartbreak and hope.
Honors: Weatherford Award, Judy Gaines Young Award, Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Longlist, On the "Year's Best Books" lists of Booklist, The Advocate, Paste, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, and others.
