Exiled South by Harriet Cannon – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

Exiled South by Harriet Cannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lizbeth Gordon is a school counselor who seems to be able to resolve conflict in the lives of others but is unable to do so in her own life. After she unexpectedly loses her husband, she feels alone and is in need for time to herself. Lizbeth decides to return to South Carolina to stay at her family’s cottage on the beach. While there visiting with her family her aunt tells Lizbeth stories of family ancestors who disappeared during the Civil War Reconstruction. This leads Lizbeth to research her family roots to find out what happened to her family and where they may have ended up. In her quest to solve the mystery surrounding the mysterious disappearance of her ancestors Lizbeth hits a brick wall and is unable to find any farther information about this part of her family. Lizbeth becomes frustrated and feels as though she needs to give up, so she accepts a job that she is offered in Rio de Janeiro.

It is in Rio de Janeiro where she meets someone with the same surname as the ancestor that she was researching. This person has old paperwork and an old diary written by someone with the same surname. Could this person be a long lost relative of Lizbeth’s? Could this person be the key to unlocking the secrets of her past?

This book resonated with me because I am currently researching my family tree. This is something that I have been trying to unravel over the years and have stopped and started on numerous occasions. I, too, have stumbled onto roadblocks and dead ends in some of my research with my ancestors. I could identify with the character of Lizbeth Gordon because she was much like me. Despite hitting numerous dead ends she was determined to solve the mystery and fill in the missing pieces from her past. I had to keep reading because I was anxious to see if she would solve the mystery and what length she would go to. I think my favorite part of the entire book was the journal entries that she found that had been written over 100 years ago. I love that kind of stuff!

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