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The Sweet Tea Odyssey

by Catherine Mann

A family road trip shaped by crisis and memory

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A family road trip shaped by crisis and memory

As a hurricane bears down on the Carolinas, Rosalynn Yates, her teenage daughter Elsie, and Rosalynn’s mother, Lillian, travel from the family’s waterfront home toward Virginia. The present-day evacuation brings unresolved betrayals and new difficulties into view, while Lillian’s recollections connect the family’s history to the Capitol Crawl and the fight for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Family relationships, disability access, and the work of finding reconciliation run through this story of three generations facing upheaval together. The title’s sweet tea tradition provides a family-centered frame for a narrative that moves between an urgent journey and an earlier chapter in the family’s life.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in stories about three generations of women and family relationships.
  • Readers seeking fiction that engages with disability access and the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Readers who enjoy family dramas involving travel, crisis, and unresolved tensions.

Themes

Family ties and generational memoryDisability access and advocacyBetrayal and reconciliationResilience amid upheaval

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A powerful story of healing, resilience, and the traditions that bring Southern families together by the USA Today bestselling author of Lightning in a Mason Jar.

With her waterfront home on the market, marriage over, and teen daughter, Elsie, threatening emancipation, Rosalynn Yates finds her nerves well frayed, and that's even before a Category Three hurricane approaches the Carolinas. Fortunately, Rosalynn's mother, Lillian, arrives to help with the evacuation, going into full Mama Bear mode--whether Rosalynn likes it or not.

The three women load a few belongings and Rosalynn's mobility service dog, Dusty, into her van and start the slow journey to Lillian's home in Virginia, where further heartache awaits them. As they hash out old betrayals and new crises, Lillian recalls another important road trip, when decades earlier the family joined the historic Capitol Crawl to fight for the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As secrets surface and accommodations become more difficult to find, the women are tested at every turn. But they know that finding hope and reconciliation takes care and patience--just like making the perfect pitcher of sweet tea.

(c) 2026 by Catherine Mann, all rights reserved.

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