The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Escoffery, Jonathan. If I Survive You. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022.

Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You is a collection of eight short stories. Although each of the enclosed pieces functions as an individual work of fiction, all of the short stories are interconnected. Told from a range of different points of view and presented in a variety of forms, the short stories all feature episodes from the protagonist Trelawny's family members' lives. For the sake of clarity, the following summary presents individual explanations for each piece and relies upon the present tense.

In "In Flux," when Trelawny is roughly nine years old, his peers begin to ask questions about his cultural identity. Although his parents are Jamaican, Trelawny was born in the States, and thus does not understand what his peers are asking. As he comes of age, he feels increasingly dislocated from each and every social sphere he enters. When he is in college, he travels to Jamaica seeking a sense of home. Ultimately, he realizes that one person, place, or community cannot encapsulate who he is.

In "Under the Ackee Tree," Topper relocates from Jamaica to the States with his wife Sanya and son Delano. Not long after settling in Florida, Topper and Sanya have a second son, Trelawny. Over the years following, Topper becomes increasingly confused and frustrated by Trelawny's Americanized behaviors. He thus devotes all of his energy and attention to Delano. When Trelawny moves home after college, Topper ridicules him during a party at the house. Furious with Topper, Trelawny attacks Topper's favorite tree with an ax.

In "Odd Jobs," after Trelawny's father kicks him out for attacking his tree, Trelawny struggles to support himself. He finds an ad on Craigslist for a woman seeking someone to give her a black eye. Trelawny and the woman end up spending the afternoon sharing their woes.

In "Pestilence," Trelawny and Delano are convinced that their childhood home is cursed. It is not only infested with bugs, but all of their pets die while living there. When Hurricane Andrew approaches, Trelawny is terrified that their dog Double-O will be killed in the storm. Sanya insists he will be okay, but Topper reveals that he is already dead.

In "Splashdown," Trelawny's cousin Cukie meets his father Ox for the first time the summer he turns 13. He spends his vacation in the Florida Keys with Ox. Desperate to understand the man who fathered him, Trelawny not only closely observes Ox, but rifles through his personal belongings hunting for clues to Ox's past. Years later, when Cukie has a son of his own, he confronts his father, demanding an explanation for his abandonment. Ox does his best to explain.

In "If He Suspected He'd Get Someone Killed This Morning, Delano Would Never Leave His Couch," after Delano's wife leaves him, Delano plunges into despair. He has also been struggling to maintain a job. Therefore, when he hears a hurricane is headed his way, he feels a sense of hope. Ultimately, the hurricane never strikes and Delano has to face his circumstances.

In "If I Survive You," Trelawny and Delano are living in their childhood home. Determined to create a life for himself and his girlfriend, Trelawny decides to buy the house from his father and kick Delano out. In spite of his efforts to procure the necessary funds, Trelawny ultimately does not secure the homestead or the future he imagined for himself. He realizes that the only path to future happiness is through forgiveness.