The Wilderness

A defining novel about friendship, growth, and the dizzying, unpredictable terrain of adulthood—The Wilderness follows five Black women over the course of twenty years, as they navigate love, ambition, family, and the complex demands of modern life.

Desiree, Danielle, January, Monique, and Nakia are in their early twenties, standing at the threshold of careers, marriage, motherhood, and the big-city adventures of New York and Los Angeles. Together, they move through the wilderness of young adulthood—a period at once thrilling, mysterious, and fraught with consequences.

Sisters Desiree and Danielle grapple with estrangement and unresolved family wounds. January contends with a pregnancy and a “good” relationship she feels uncertain about. Monique, a librarian and aspiring blogger, finds unexpected online fame when she exposes her university’s attempt to whitewash its history. Nakia works tirelessly to launch her own restaurant, determined to succeed without relying on her upper-middle-class family’s support.

From the late 2000s into the late 2020s, through political upheaval, economic turbulence, and environmental instability, these women must reckon with what they mean to each other—and how friendship endures, evolves, and sometimes falters along the way.

Angela Flournoy’s The Wilderness is a kaleidoscopic, masterfully rendered follow-up to her acclaimed debut, The Turner House. With wit, empathy, and electric language, Flournoy captures the tangled, transformative power of lifelong connection, showing how the deepest bonds can emerge from life’s most uncertain terrain.