“Boys and men are earth and stone,” my mama used to say. “But you girls, us women, we’re water. We can wear away earth and stone, if it comes to it.”

When married couple Althea and Proctor are arrested, it is up to Althea's younger siblings, Viola and Lillian, to sort through what has happened and take on the role as caretakers to Althea and Proctor's teen daughters. As they navigate what is best for the young girls, they must also navigate a complex history of family trauma and when to prioritize forgiveness of self over the forgiveness of others.

I really had to take some time and digest this book before writing my thoughts on it. I really enjoyed this book and its cast of characters. I feel these women were very realistically written and I appreciated the contrasting points of view and personalities. There were several things that I do wish had been more thoroughly explained, while other plot points tended to repeat. That said, I appreciated the ways in which I got to know how each individual character's trauma and upbringing affected them as adults dealing with individual lives during a family crisis.