Set in historical Charleston’s insular South of Broad neighborhood, A Southern Girl is a tale of international adoption and the evolution of a family. Coleman Carter is a scion of the Old South, a resourceful trial lawyer, devoted husband, and dutiful father. When his wife, Elizabeth, champions their adoption of a Korean orphan, and Soo Yun arrives, the reactions of Coleman’s community open his eyes to the racism and exclusivity of his sheltered life. As the Carters forge a new family identity, Coleman must confront generations-old fears inherent in southern traditions of purity and prestige. John Warley guides us through enclaves of southern privilege in New Hampton, Virginia, and Charleston; poverty-stricken alleys of Seoul, South Korea; jungles of Vietnam; and sidewalks of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, as father and daughter endure the trials of their pasts and present alike.

The first release from Pat Conroy’s Story River Books, A Southern Girl includes a foreword by New York Times bestselling novelist Therese Anne Fowler.