Bear Me Safely Over

Sheri Joseph's remarkably assured debut explores the lives of two American southern families about to be linked by marriage.

Bear Me Safely Over is a richly textured and emotionally intense exploration of two Georgia families whose lives become connected through a marriage. Troubled pasts and complicated relationships are tackled through dark and contemporary themes - a young daughter dying of AIDS, the menace of homophobia, racism, the splintering of families, the discordant voice of religious fundamentalism - but at the core of these interwoven stories is a hopeful portrait of the different and often elusive faces of salvation.

Summoning a diverse and provocative chorus of voices, Sheri Joseph offers up a kaleidoscopic vision of the common secrets and sorrows at the heart of a community.