Camille Taylor has spent years deliberately and carefully building her life as a lawyer in Washington, DC. When her husband dies suddenly, her entire world collapses. After fighting her grief, and herself, for over a year, she decides to pack up and go home to Alabama. Camille figures the change of scenery will be good for both herself and her daughter, Willa.
The salt air and slow rhythms of the coast soothe Camille’s spirit, but she learns that some things have changed in her hometown. Run-off from an abandoned development site is polluting the water, and someone has brought a lawsuit against the site’s owners, including Camille’s father. She volunteers to join her father’s defense team, but the more she works on the case, the more she wonders if she joined the right side of the fight.
The River Runs South is a fantastic story about hitting the bottom and climbing back to the top. It shows that not only can you go home again, but sometimes it’s the best thing you didn’t know you needed. It is also a timely commentary on Alabama’s fragile ecosystem and the fragility of grief, love, and community.
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I fell deep into this book from the first chapter and couldn’t put it down until I knew what Camille would do for herself and Willa. Camille is one of the best characters I have read in a long time. She is naturally filled with the conflicts of being a human, a mother, a daughter, and a widow. I absolutely love her, and I love that she feels so real.
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