Gone South: A Novel

By Meg Moseley

Description:

The charm of the South drew her back to her family’s roots. But when the town’s old resentments turn the sweet tea bitter, can Tish find a welcome anywhere? Leaving frosty Michigan for the Deep South was never a blip in the simple plans Tish McComb imagined for her life, dreams of marriage and family that were dashed five years earlier in a tragic accident. Now an opportunity to buy her great-great-great-grandparents’ Civil War era home beckons Tish to Noble, Alabama, a Southern town in every sense of the word. She wonders if God has given her a new dream— the old house filled with friends, her vintage percolator bubbling on the sideboard. When Tish discovers that McCombs aren’t welcome in town, she feels like a Yankee behind enemy lines. Only local antiques dealer George Zorbas seems willing to give her a chance. What’s a lonely outcast to do but take in Noble’s resident prodigal, Melanie Hamilton, and hope that the two can find some much needed acceptance in each other. Problem is, old habits die hard, and Mel is quite set in her destructive ways. With Melanie blocked from going home, Tish must try to manage her incorrigible houseguest as she attempts to prove her own worth in a town that seems to have forgotten that every sinner needs God-given mercy, love and forgiveness.

Book Takeaway:

All of humanity has "gone south." We're all sinners who need love and mercy from God as well as from each other.

Why the author wrote this book:

I wrote this book to explore the idea that a prodigal won’t necessarily follow the pattern shown in the parable of the prodigal son. Need or hunger, not repentance, may be the force that turns a wanderer toward home, and some earthly father-figures can’t or won’t offer the kindness that may lead a prodigal toward repentance. Whatever the situation, I think the role of a Christian is to keep the door open even for the prodigals who stumble every step of the way, and to remember the example that Jesus gives us. He's an Elder Brother who wants to welcome every last one of us home.