Southern Boys

Abstract

Mia Carpenter has spent most of her adult life avoiding her father and resenting him for running out on their family when she was twelve. Now approaching her thirtieth birthday, Mia once again fears she’s being left behind by a man she loves, her husband Tim, who has been working as a news anchor for Channel 38 in Gulf Point, Florida, and confesses he’s been unfaithful to her during their summer apart. Determined not to let Tim get away as her father did, Mia moves to Gulf Point and tries to put her marriage back together. Standing in her way are her brother Danny, whose cynicism and attention to detail unnerve her; her father Owen, who arrives in Gulf Point unannounced and admits he’s recovering from a heart attack neither of his children knew about; and Tim himself, who uses work as an excuse to avoid having to talk about their problems. Southern Boys examines how our families shape us. Mia learns that in order to make amends with Tim, she must first accept her father’s misdeeds and forgive him for always seeming more like a buddy than a parent. She must see how Danny acts and figure out how to avoid his cynicism. Most importantly, Mia must realize how she blames others and drives them away because she hangs on to a past that cannot exist anymore.