From New York Times bestselling author Julie Cantrell comes a story of family and the Southern roots that call us home.
“If Julie Cantrell isn’t on your reading list, she should be.” —Lisa Wingate
Years ago, Lovey chose to leave her family and the South far behind. But now that she’s returned, she’s realizing things at home were not always what they seemed.
Eva Sutherland—known to all as … they seemed.
Eva Sutherland—known to all as Lovey—grew up safe and secure in Oxford, Mississippi, surrounded by a rich literary history and her mother’s stunning flower gardens. But a shed fire, and the injuries it caused, changed everything. Her older sister, Bitsy, blamed Lovey for the irreparable damage. Bitsy became the homecoming queen and the perfect Southern belle who could do no wrong. All the while, Lovey served as the family scapegoat, always bearing the brunt when Bitsy threw blame her way.
At eighteen, suffocating in her sister’s shadow, Lovey turned down a marriage proposal and fled to Arizona. Free from Bitsy’s vicious lies, she became a successful advertising executive and a weekend yoga instructor, carving a satisfying life for herself. But at forty-five, Lovey is feeling more alone than ever and questioning the choices that led her here.
When her father calls insisting she come home three weeks early for her parents’ 50th anniversary, Lovey is at her wits’ end. She’s about to close the biggest contract of her career, and there’s a lot on the line. But despite the risks, her father’s words, “Family First,” draw her back to the red-dirt roads of Mississippi.
Lovey is quickly engrossed in a secret project—a memory garden her father has planned as an anniversary surprise. But the landscaper who’s also working on it is none other than Fisher, the first boy she ever loved. As she helps create this sacred space, Lovey begins to rediscover her roots, the power of second chances, and how to live perennially in spite of life’s many trials and tragedies.
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This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The story and characters were so realistic. The Southern lilt of the story was so comfortable and drew me right in. I highly recommend this book.
Eva finally fleeing from being under her sister Bitsy to Arizona. Now awaiting a big contract, a success in her career at 45,wonders about her choices. Her dad summons her to come home for their anniversary, for three weeks., to build a memory garden. They never visited her in Arizona so she didn’t know what to expect. Is what she had thought all though years as true today. Her sister married and has two children, would she even be welcome. A love of doing the garden, becomes so much more, and readers will delight in them, and this story.
Given ARC. by ?Thomas Nelson for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.
The life lessons shown in this book gave me so much to think about and apply in real life. A true story of what many families go through but it teaches to remember that family is first.
As a reader of Julie Cantrell’s other books, I was excited to have the privilege to read an advance copy but this opinion is my own. Just as in her other books, Julie is able to weave and develop thought provoking characters who are not simple. Each has their own stories to tell and their lives become the rich tapestry that leads this family and friends into a place of responding to loss, love, and the good things they share. So many sweet lessons from the wise mother. So many real acts of love lived out for those he loves, by Chief, the father. I could not put it down and completed it in a weekend. But it left me loving these things I did not previously know much about: Oxford, Mississippi, the authors, William Faulkner and Eudora Welty and wonderful lore from flowers and gardening. Julie paints pictures with colors from Arizona, Mississippi, business strategies and yoga into this meaningful story. I want to live next door to this family now.
Okay, this one is the best yet! I simply loved it and hated the way life can be sometimes. This one hit close to home with positive and negative feelings toward the characters ways of being. Such a great job of pulling the reader in during the hard times as well as the wonderful times. This book had me talking out loud to it! It certainly pulled my emotions back and forth!
In a troubled world, reading about characters who choose hope and trust over disillusionment is so refreshing.
Beautiful written tale of finding your path back to family and opening up to love after hurt. The Biblical references are insightful and thought provoking. Anyone who has ever been on a spiritual journey to find their place in the world and within their family can relate to Lovey’s story. Well done! Highly recommended!
This book explores sibling rivalry. It brought me back to my younger years with my 2 year younger sister. It shows the love a family should have for each other & how a devastating illness can bring the family back together. I loved this book & the characters were like my family by the end!
A. Wonderful story of family – all the trials and disfunction and renewal – true to life
Good read. Really liked the characters, liked the story.
As with many family dynamics this family gets together for the parents 50th wedding anniversary and has to deal with many of the issues of their childhood. It dealt with the misunderstandings and lack of communication that occurred because all family members but especially the parents, thought that their daughters “just knew” their feelings.
Sometimes in life we allow others to continually hurt us or make life difficult for us. It is so freeing to get out from beneath that pain and live our life to the fullest. People’s lives aren’t always as perfect as they seem, and getting to the bottom of problems can definitely help make our lives a lot easier. The main character had a lot of baggage that she had to work through. It had a satisfying ending though.
A romcom in book form. The family dynamics held my attention, but the love story was sappy, and the continuous description of every plant, flower and shrub known to mankind (at least it seemed that way) just didn’t hold my attention. Read it until the end, but would not read anything else from this author. Just too sappy.
Good book,but slow start.almost didn’t read.
The descriptions and rambling details were a bit exhausting, but the story line was interesting. Wonderful story of love and kindness.
Perennials is a new novel by Julie Cantrell. Eva “Lovely” Sutherland grew up in Oxford, Mississippi. Thanks to her sister, Bitsy and her lies, Eva was quick to move to Phoenix when she turned eighteen. Laurel and Chief Sutherland will be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary soon and they would like Eva to return home early. Eva just landed the account of her career with a tight deadline, but she agrees to return home. Unfortunately, Bitsy has not changed and is antagonistic (bitter, nasty, jealous). Eva helps her father plan a special memory garden as a surprise for her mother. It gives Eva a chance to work with her friend and former boyfriend, Fisher Oaklen as well as remember her dream of becoming a flower farmer. Eva is given an opportunity to look back on her life and decide what she wants for her future. Is it possible to go home again? Can Bitsy and Eva get past their differences?
Perennials is a spiritual novel (not Christian) with focus on Buddhism. Yoga and Buddhism are frequently mentioned throughout the story (Buddhist prayer wheel, yoga poses, etc.). The one Christian thing mentioned repeatedly is “Judas has a story” (two sides to every story). Julie Cantrell is a descriptive writer. She paints a picture with words. Ms. Cantrell describes nature (flowers, trees, birds) and the town in detail. Some of the flower descriptions are lovely (people who enjoy gardening will appreciate it). I found Perennials to be a slow-paced story that failed to capture and hold my attention (it actually put me to sleep which is hard to do since I suffer from insomnia). It is basically a story of sibling rivalry (I could go down the street to my sisters to experience this type of behavior) with a predictable ending (it turned out exactly as I predicted when I started reading it).