Oxford author Michael Farris Smith will launch his latest novel, “Lay Your Armor Down,” on May 27 at Off Square Books, where he will be in conversation with John T. Edge.

Smith will also take questions from the audience and sign copies, which will be available at the store and everywhere else books are sold.

In this powerful latest work, Smith delivers a stirring, lyrical exploration of several broken individuals bound by violence, memory, and the desperate hope for redemption, while trying to outrun danger’s dark grasp.

Rich in spiritual undertones and Southern gothic atmosphere, the story begins with an elderly woman, deep in the throes of dementia, wandering barefoot through the woods with a headful of fragmented memories.

Also, with the disturbing discovery of a carnage scene at a church, by two men – Keal, a dream-plagued drifter, and Burdean, a strict enforcer. Then, unexpectedly, in the basement, the men come upon a mute, mysterious, wide-eyed girl with messianic qualities.

Dementia-plagued Wanetah is at the core of the novel, as her confused and disjointed mutterings are given depth and empathy, and not just looked down on as a medical condition, but also as a symbolic unraveling of time, identity and purpose.

Wanetah’s erosion drums up a sense of obligation to those she comes in touch with – particularly Cara, a woman riddled with grief since losing her daughter. Cara is drawn to her in a way that begins to placate her emotional crisis.

As the characters gradually fall deeper into a whirlwind of danger, with sinister men in pursuit, they are forced to reconcile with their own haunted pasts.

They all find themselves connected to the fragile child and gradually fading woman, as each is forced to decide whether to keep bearing their burdens, or to at long last lay their armor down.

At its core, “Lay Your Armor Down” is a raw, redemptive meditation on what we carry, what we let go of, and how, even in ruin, there still could be a chance for grace.

Square Books called it “an engrossing level of experience not usually encountered in a novel.”

Wright Thompson, a Clarksdale native and senior writer for ESPN Magazine, said, “’Lay Your Armor Down’ demands that you pay attention.”

The book launch event starts at 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public.