Title: Sweetgrass
Author: Mary Alice Monroe
Genre: Southern fiction


Mary June Blakely and Preston Blakely have been married for forty-seven years; they have spent their entire marriage at Sweetgrass, the Blakley's ancestral home. Unfortunately, their marriage is tested when Preston succumbs to a stroke and when Preston's greedy, developer-friendly, real estate agent sister pressures the family to sell Sweetgrass. As Preston undergoes therapy at home, the various members of the Blakely family finally come to grips with some personal demons and family secrets that have been buried for decades. Interwoven into the family drama is snippets of Lowcountry history and the sweetgrass basket industry that has sustained the African American community since the early days of slavery.