Make Your Way Home: Stories

by Carrie R. Moore

A debut collection of stories set across the American South, featuring characters who struggle to find love and belonging in the wake of painful histories. How can you love where you come from, even when home doesn’t love you back?

In eleven stories that span Florida marshes, North Carolina mountains, and Southern metropolitan cities, Make Your Way Home follows Black men and women who grapple with the homes that have eluded them. A preteen pregnant alongside her mother refuses to let convention dictate who she names as the father of her child. Centuries after slavery separated his ancestors, a native Texan tries to win over the love of his life, despite the grip of a family curse. A young deaconess, who falls for a new church member, wonders what it means when God stops speaking to her. And at the very end of the South as we know it, two sisters seek to escape North to freedom, to promises of a more stable climate.

Artfully and precisely drawn, and steeped in place and history as it explores themes of belonging, inheritance, and deep intimacy, Carrie R. Moore’s debut collection announces an extraordinary new talent in American fiction, inviting us all to examine how the past shapes our present—and how our present choices will echo for years to come.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

Published July 15, 2025

Reviews

[BookOfCinz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the first three stories but the rest I don't even remember.

[Laura Graves Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This set of moody and often sad personal journey short stories is set in the American South and has all Black protagonists. The writing is beautiful with a strong sense of place and the characters feel fully formed, realistic, and interesting. It is hard to believe this is a debut! The stories that stuck with me most (haunted me, really!) were "When We Go, We Go Downstream" and "Surfacing." The book aptly includes a quote from Jesmyn Ward; fans of Jesmyn Ward will enjoy this collection.

[La Tonya Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are eleven of the most amazing short stories. All the short stories circulate around the theme of love. The questions explored are: What is love? Can I find love again? Why does love hurt? Was it love to begin with? and finally I am losing love? The situations are believable and characters are relatable. In the end my thought is how can love be such a tangled mess?

"When We Go, We Go Downstream" tells of a curse placed on the slave Elijah and his offsprings. Elijah ran away from the plantation where the master forbade him to call Evaline his wife. Evaline went to the conjure woman and placed a curse on Elijah and his generations that they should never find love. Elijah was the first of her lovers' to leave by choice. The others' had been sold.

"Cottonmouths" when you imitate your parents without knowing the consequences and end up in a situation that is not for you how do you resolve the conflict? Twyla tries to convince Momma she can stay and that would be better than leaving.

"Surfacing" Grace and Dev met in college. They had so much in common. She was a foster child eventually adopted by Olivia on an island off of Georgia's coast. His entire family was killed in a car accident. Grace is a dancer. She loves Dev. She has one problem. It hurts when they have sex. Now, her thighs are hurting when she dances. She returns to the island to seek comfort. In her surprise and relief the island starts to give her answers.

"Morning By Morning" Kevin and Helene are engaged, but have not had sex. Kevin wants to have sex before they marry. Helene does not want to fall out of favor with God. Sariah is a deaconess at church. She is sacrificing herself from sex to make pence of sin, for an abortion, she had in her early twenties. Jay wants to be baptized in the church. But, does not know if he is ready. How much is a sacrifice for sin?

"The Happy Land" Gideon is married to Darnell. Is father is trying to accept and understand this marriage. It is difficult. His father was a womanizer and took in Gideon after his mother died. Wyatt was Gideon's first love and now he is back. Old memories start to resurface. His father is trying to understand. He tells Gideon he wandered away from his mother and no good came from it. The best his father can do.

Quotes:

Auntie Charlee had lost her fiancé at the mall, turning around to show him a cashmere sweater, only to find him gone and, later, his truck missing from the parking lot.

ONE THING WOMEN LOVED to talk about was sex.

"Come-heres, Olivia would've called them, in contrast to the Been-heres, people who'd lived on the island for generations."

It isn't right how some things get to be lost, and others don't.

[Lou.Lou.Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ Book Review: Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore
3.75 stars

Thank you partner Tin House Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This book is a heartfelt, soul-stirring journey about healing, hope, and the winding path back to yourself. Carrie R. Moore weaves a story that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable — touching on grief, resilience, and the power of second chances.

The characters are raw and real, carrying scars you can almost feel. Moore’s writing is tender yet unflinching, pulling you into each moment with grace. If you’ve ever felt lost, or needed a reminder that coming home isn’t always about a place — but about peace — this one will hit you right in the heart. 💛

📚 Perfect for fans of emotional, character-driven fiction with a redemptive arc.

[JP Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived in many of the places where these stories unfold, I felt an immediate connection to the landscapes and rhythms of this collection. Set mostly in the American South, the book captures a sense of place that rang true to me—not just geographically, but emotionally. The dialogue sounds like real conversation, and the characters feel like people I’ve known or might meet. The author has a gift for building tension that simmers just beneath the surface.

I was happy to find gay representation in some stories. My favorite story was “The Happy Land,” which centers on a married gay man, his father, and an old boyfriend. Complex and disturbing.

Thanks for the ARC, Tin House!

[Juergen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to begin by saying thank you to Tin House Books for the Advanced Readers Copy. This book was beautifully written, and the stories felt very personal. It was captivating and the storytelling was highly impressive, especially for a debut. I walked away feeling impacted by all the short stories -- especially since no two stories felt similar, not in plot, voice, writing. Each story was complex, the journeys the main characters face felt real and powerful.

[Ayannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a haunting exploration of what “home” really means—and how that meaning shifts. The writing carried an eerie undercurrent of suspense and that tension kept me hooked.

What I loved most was how the South wasn’t just a setting, but a living, breathing part of the story. The culture, the landscape, the unspoken rules—they all felt like characters in their own right, shaping the lives and choices of everyone in the book.

My favorite stories were All Skin Is Clothing, Surfacing, Morning By Morning, How Does Your Garden Grow.

Thanks to Tin House for the ARC!

[Lit_Vibrations · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special thanks to the author & @tin_house for my gifted copy‼️

Make Your Way Home is a timeless poetic collection of 11 short stories that explores the different struggles Black men, women, and even children face at different points in their lives. Moore’s deep exploration of home can mean so many things in this book. You have characters who find home within themselves and sometimes other people. Physical places we call home opposed to those we make home. What it means to belong versus a sense of belonging. Reclamation of past versions of self while transitioning into future version of ourselves.

Each story has an authentic Southern feel and follows different characters as they deal with the effects of their past decisions. In “Cottonmouths” both mother and daughter are pregnant at the same time. Instead of giving motherly advice to her teen daughter Twyla’s mother is more focused on her daughter’s failures, who her child’s father is and pushing her out the door.

“Surfacing” was the perfect title for this short story. Trying to rekindle a sparkless marriage Grace witnesses neighbor Natalie possibly being sexually abused by her father causing trauma from her past to resurface.

“Gather Here Again” follows grandmother Stella who could possibly die soon but instead of focusing on death she spends her days looking after her grandchildren telling ghost stories and reflecting on her past life hoping that nobody notices the changes she’s going through.

“Naturale” had to be my favorite story of them all. Cherie is a hairstylist who’s husband is a liar and a cheat, her mother is in prison, she’s currently pregnant, and finally met her husband’s mistress face to face only for the mistress to try and have a “Barbara this is Shirley” moment.

Overall, I loved this book‼️ Reflecting on the diversity of Black Southern life, identity, life choices, relationships with our ancestors, and what home means this is a collection of stories you didn’t know you needed. If you’re a fan of authors like Leila Mottley or LaToya Watkins you’ll definitely enjoy this book.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

My college is reading this as part of a book club. It had been a while since I'd read a collection of short stories. And after reading this, I had to ask myself why that is. The form is so beautiful, and Moore is a master of the art.

Each story in this collection takes place in a different southern state. The stories span various timeframes (including the future), genders and ages. But all of them speak to the idea of home -- creating it, discovering, returning to it -- all from the viewpoint of the Black experience.

Among my favorites were:

- "Surfacing," in which a woman and her husband visit her late foster-mother's Sea Island Georgia home, having a tense encounter with visiting neighbors.
- "The Happy Land," in which an intense winter storm frames a gay son leaving his husband to check on his father in his small town and having to face what leaving has meant
- "How Does Your Garden Grow?," telling the story of women returning to Mississippi to seek healing, both physically and spiritually
- "Till It and Keep It," a glimpse into the lives of two sisters seeking a better life in a climate ravaged south of the future

These stories will stick with me for some time. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to discussions about these stories and getting to hear the author herself next month!

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such good stories. Some were hard for me to understand-these characters live different lives from me, but the writing is powerful.

[Leah Tyler]

See full review on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website:

Family and Nature Point the Way Home in Stories Rooted in the South

"The concept of home means different things to different folks. For some, it’s where they’re from or where they live. For others, home isn’t a physical location but is defined by family. For the characters in Atlanta native Carrie R. Moore’s moody, evocative debut collection of stories “Make Your Way Home, it is a complicated combination of geography and genealogy that tethers the past to the present.

Nobody feels the pull of history more than Ever, a man who returns to Austin, Texas, for his twin sister’s wedding in the opening story, “When We Go, We Go Downstream.” As Ever watches his disparate family gather to celebrate his sister’s nuptials, he reflects on the legend of a “marriage curse” passed down by his enslaved ancestor Elijah. As wedding complications escalate, Ever’s melancholy mushrooms, leaving him to wonder if either he or his sister will buck the trend like their grandfather — the only descendant of Elijah’s with a successful long-term union..."

https://www.ajc.com/arts-entertainmen...

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Achingly rich prose that has me savoring each story. Moore is a master of immersion, from character to imagery and there is absolutely no rushing this book. I have so many favorites, but the tender tension that builds in Happy Land with Gideon and his father is one I’m thinking about. It’s rare a short story collection has no misses, and this is one for me.

[Zakia · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the stories felt incomplete. I felt like I was dropped in the middle of each story and I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything. Give me the first 30- 50 pages so I get to know the characters, setting, etc. I really wanted to like and enjoy this book but sadly I didn’t

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this set of stories, set in the American South, Carrie opens up a part of herself and lets us all in. The amount of love and compassion she has for her characters. The ability she has to craft a compelling story. It’s an astounding book.

[Lauren Eales · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gorgeous book. It took me a long time to read, but I always looked forward to the next story. The places felt real and realized and it had lovely themes

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make Your Way Home is a haunting collection of short stories set across the American South. We follow an array of Black characters navigating trauma, identity, complex relationships, violence, health issues, and so much more. Each of the eleven stories have a strong sense of place and well-developed characters. A phenomenal debut in which Moore beautifully explores how the past influences the present and the true meaning of home. My favorite stories were When We Go, We Go Downstream, Surfacing, and How Does Your Garden Grow.

[The Bourbon-Sipping Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC Book Review: Make Your Way Home
Title: Make Your Way Home: Stories
Author: Carrie R. Moore
Genre: Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Multicultural Interest, Black American Literature
Rating: ★★★¾ (3.75/5) | Spice Level: 🌶️ (Hint of Heat/Intimacy)

The Pour: A Complex Flight with Rich, Uneven Aging
This collection is a thought-provoking flight of whiskies, each drawn from the deep, complex well of the American South. Make Your Way Home is a powerful debut that gathers eleven stories of Black men and women grappling with the elusive nature of "home," inheritance, and belonging across varied Southern landscapes.

Moore's writing is often lyrical and precise, skillfully weaving together history and personal memory into contemporary struggles. The stories are intimate, tackling weighty topics like ancestral curses, faith crises, and difficult family legacies. While the collection is a strong showcase of Moore's talent, the inherent nature of the short story form means the impact felt uneven across the eleven narratives, preventing a perfect score. It is a collection that demands time and reflection, but the reward is a resonant engagement with place and history.

What I Sip and Savored 🥃 (The Smooth Finish)
The parts of this pour that went down perfectly smooth:

🥃 Lyrical and Precise Prose: Moore writes with extraordinary grace and depth. Her beautiful prose elevates even the most challenging subjects, treating her characters with a compassionate yet unflinching hand.
🥃 Masterful Sense of Place: The settings, from Florida marshes to North Carolina mountains, are richly drawn. The Southern landscape and its complicated history function almost as a character, effectively grounding each narrative in a tangible sense of place.
🥃 Themes of Inheritance and Belonging: The collection powerfully explores how ancestral history and the complicated legacy of the South directly shape contemporary choices and relationships. This thematic throughline provides a powerful connection across the diverse stories.
🥃 Emotional Depth: Moore handles sensitive topics (trauma, faith, reproductive health) with remarkable maturity. The stories are emotionally intelligent and felt incredibly intimate.

What I Side-Eyed 🥃 (The Fleeting Jolt)
The areas that prevented a higher rating:

🥃 Inconsistent Impact: As is common with short story collections, the impact of the narratives varied. Some stories were instant favorites for their originality and emotional heft, while others felt slightly underdeveloped or unresolved, leaving the reader wanting more time with the characters.
🥃 Complexity of Form: The frequent shifts in voice, perspective, and time period, while artful, occasionally required significant reader focus. The layering of historical and speculative elements, though compelling, could make the collection feel less cohesive in places.

The Finish
Make Your Way Home is a very strong and moving literary debut that showcases Carrie R. Moore's formidable talent. It's a thoughtful, resonant collection that explores the difficult but essential questions of home and love in a land that does not always love back. Highly recommended for readers who value literary depth and powerful explorations of the Black American experience.

The Perfect Pairing
Pairing: A Neat Glass of Speyside Single Malt Scotch. Why? It's intense, requires a careful palate to appreciate its complexities, and the depth of its aging reveals true emotional warmth beneath a seemingly cool, precise exterior.

Tropes: Short Stories, Intergenerational Trauma, Sense of Place, Family Secrets, Quest for Home/Belonging.

(I received an advance reader copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.)

[Mary Havens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latter half of the short stories were better, for me, than the first half. I'm going to rank the stories (for my own remembering) and perhaps it will help others??
I really enjoyed Moore's use of place and her focus on women's relationships to each other as well as her focus on Black women and their difficulties in particular. For example, "Naturale" and the relationship between Cherie and Simone set in a salon. Claire and Sofia in "How Does Your Garden Grow?" as they navigate the healthcare system as women who are not listened to.
Ranking:
1) "How Does Your Garden Grow?"
2) "Surfacing" -main character's experience with pain during sex
3) "Naturale"
4) "When We Go, We Go Downstream" - curses and a bit of a love letter to Austin
5) "The Happy Land" - if only for this line "It is utterly exhausting trying to run from your old life to your new one"
6) "Cottonmouths" - one of the early ones but I do remember liking it
7) "Till it and Keep it" - climate change ruined future
8) "All Skin is Clothing" - all I remember of this one is that it started a new obsession for me: boo hags! Skinless witches from Gullee GeeChee culture. OBSESSED
9) "In the Swirl" - lifeguards
10) "Gather Here Again" - grandmother remembers her past encounters with the Klan
11) "Morning by Morning" - very long, did not like, almost made me want to stop the book, I should have skipped it but I don't do that. woman is struggling with her carnal nature versus her religious side?

I would definitely read more of Moore's work. Her writing is brilliant, especially her appreciation of place.
OH! And how can I forget that Moore added a Bibliography!!!! LOVE THAT SO MUCH!! Especially when trying to figure out more about boo hags.

[Gila Gila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes receiving an advanced copy of a coming publication strikes a particular note of luck: I am grateful to have received an ARC of this moving new collection of short stories, published by Tin House, introducing the gifts of Carrie R. Moore.

With an array of disparate characters at different points in history, these eleven stories hang together through lived experience, of being a black American in the South. As with almost every story collection, some are stronger than others, but in this instance, the separate pieces create an entirety, not of plot but of emotional experience.

The other unifying thread is the sensation that with Carrie R. Moore, one is in the hands of a new author who can really write. What a relief it is to be able to sink back and trust the next page, the next story. She moves with grace through that liquid blaze of summer heat ('In the Swirl', with its 18 year old camp counselor navigating all the changes that age carries, new independence, a job, the possibility of love, and then a last line that suddenly moves time forward and back), the pressing weight of danger too close to ignore (a gripping story of family and what is owed one another, "All Skin is Clothing") and makes a perfect landing in my favorite of this collection, "The Happy Land', a father and son tale that feels like it could have been, might one day stretch into, a full and beautifully rendered novel. I'd be there for that - for whatever comes next from Carrie R. Moore's ability to move her vision from mind to page.

[Roslyn Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore is a stunning debut collection that marks my first encounter with her work—and what a powerful introduction it is. Set across the American South, these eleven stories explore the lives of Black men and women navigating love, loss, and the complicated legacy of home. Moore’s prose is lyrical yet precise, and each story pulses with emotional depth, whether it’s a preteen girl redefining fatherhood or a young deaconess questioning her faith. The settings from Florida marshes to North Carolina mountains are richly drawn, grounding each narrative in a sense of place that feels both intimate and expansive.

What impressed me most was Moore’s ability to weave history and personal memory into contemporary struggles without ever losing the human heartbeat at the center. Her characters are flawed, resilient, and unforgettable, and the collection as a whole feels like a meditation on belonging and inheritance. For a first-time reader, Make Your Way Home is not just a promising debut it’s a deeply resonant experience that leaves me eager to follow Moore’s literary path wherever it leads next

[Casey O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a stunning debut. Carrie Moore writes with such gentleness, treating her characters with such softness in their descriptions. The product of years of research (with citations, slay!!!) - this collection reads so well. Gorgeous imagery and deeply grounded stories even when they slip into dreaminess or curses or the fantastical. Carrie is generous to readers with this collection.

I literally never stopped being impressed the entire collection. Sometimes I sat down and couldn't get up, swimming in story after story. Other stories took me several days to sit with.

So many favorites for me, but here a few:
When We Go We Go Downstream (a perfectly paced opener)
All Skin Is Clothing (older sister core)
Surfacing (I LOVED THIS ONE)
Naturale (tragic and lovely)
Morning by Morning (DAMN)
Gather Here Again (damn x2)


Thank you Tin House & Netgalley for one of my favorite ARCs of the year.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this collection of short stories. I decided to read it because I'm seeking out novels and stories with themes of home. This is the third book in that little self-study series, including Gather by Kenneth Cadow and Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. This anthology examined the ideas of what home is and means in the context of the Black South.

Some stories were a little unnerving to read (particularly Surfacing and How Does Your Garden Grow?) But overall I liked most of these stories. I give it 3 stars because the stories of very character driven and I was wishing that the settings and locations where the characters were played a bigger part in their perceptions of home too. A lot of other reviews did say the stories were very character focused so I knew what to expect, it's just not my favorite method of storytelling.

[ReadMyMind.withAndrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore is a collection of short stories that explore what it means to find a sense of home. The stories follow Black characters dealing with family, history, and personal struggles. Each story is full of emotion in real places like Florida swamps and North Carolina towns. She writes about topics like pregnancy, ancestral trauma, and identity in a way that feels honest and deep. This book shows how the past and present are always connected, and how people carry their stories with them wherever they go. It would be a great read for those who enjoy thoughtful and reflective written short stories.

[Roman Kreykes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make Your Way Home pulls you in right from the start. It’s the kind of story that gets under your skin, forcing you to think about who you are, where you belong, and how your past still lingers in your present. The author really nails the characters; you watch them grow, stumble, and connect, and you get why they make the choices they do. Sure, the book dives into heavy stuff like identity and family, but it never feels distant or hard to grasp. Honestly, I found myself relating to the characters’ feelings and struggles, even if their lives looked nothing like mine. This book sticks with you. It pushes you to look at your own life and ask yourself what “home” really means.

[Jasper Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be an engaging and thought-provoking read. Many stories were chalk-full with well written moments that easily connected to the real world. However, some stories fell flat for me when they lacked engaging language and interesting dialogue. Themes of family, sin, inheritance, and and religion were major driving forces through the stories, and I liked how there was a somewhat tangable throughline between the stories. Aside from a few laborious and boring sections, the stories were good and easy to read. I'd give it a 3.5/5, 6.5/10. Would reccommend, but explore your other options first.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is such an unexpected treat.

Finding your way home, having a sense of belonging, overcoming obstacles to get there. Sometimes discovering where you live isn't home and moving on if you can. It's not the premise that is unusual here; it's the quality of the writing and the unpredictable twists that give this author a unique voice.

I left this book feeling as if I'd experienced multiple realties that felt oddly familiar but out of reach, leaving me in a cathartic state. I closed my eyes, and when they reopened, I was home.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook of short stories on Libby after it popped on my radar as a July Indie Next pick. This is a collection of 11 tales set in the south that cover a lot of content: pregnancy, violence, sex and intimacy, church, hair, Blackness and more. Nearly all of the vignettes felt forgettable and most seemed unresolved in my opinion. The narration was solid but the stories didn’t captivate me. My hands-down favorite from the bunch was “How Does Your Garden Grow?” which is a memorable and unique depiction of fibroids.

[Remy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my senior year English class. The book uses separate stories as chapters that all follow a black protagonist. Carrie Moore experiments with different writing styles and techniques in different stories to create a read that is very engaging. Each story takes place in the southern United States. My favorite story was "In The Swirl" because it is told in second person and gave me a unique reading experience. I gave the book 4 stars because I found myself getting lost in it at some points during the read, but overall, I thought reading the book was a good experience.

[Mellissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good; the author effectively used multiple motifs, which made the stories connect more effectively. I liked how she made the stories all have a common theme and made that evident to the reader. My favorite story was natural, because the title related to the story, which helped me understand the deeper message. Some stories I didn't like because they lacked an apparent meaning or lesson to be learned. Overall, this book was very engaging; however, some of the individual stories lacked meaning.

[Oliver Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the variations of stories, and tracking themes of characters. I enjoyed the relationship dynamics, and seeing the development of family. My favorite story was All Skin is Clothing, as the story followed a very interesting dynamic, and had very cool character development. Overall, there weren't any stories I didn't like, however, there were aspects of certain stories I didn't enjoy reading. Overall, I'd give it 4 stars. Easy to break up over chunks as the stories don't relate. Solid read, I would recommend.