US Southern Region Books

good sons who didnot forget their up bring. could read more...

After reading this book I felt proud to be the daughter of one of the authors(Ed Morris) He has always inspired me and directed me in the right way. As you can see in this book that he and my uncles had a hard life and intended to use his life and the situations that came about to nourish his family. The book was one book of many biographies that I have read that you actually felt like you had lived this life. I loved the book and would recommend it to anyone to read. Of course being modest due to the fact that my dad and my uncles wrote it. I am very proud to be a Morris.

It was the first time I had ever been to the hollow in the narrow valley of Aaron's Fork, about 20 miles northeast of Charleston. It was way too cold for a Florida lad, accustomed to warm, sunny Februarys. The frost-painted grass under my feet made a loud crunching sound as we walked back to where the three room plank house and pole barn had sheltered the family. Everything seemed frozen in time, like a movie set from scenes shot before color graced the screens. As a guest of one of the Morris brothers, I felt like I had a front row seat in a replaying of the first part of that movie which ran some six decades ago. While "The Roads That brought Us home" is not a PBS documentary, it easily could be one in the making. Brothers Ed, David and Roger grew up among the poorest of the poor in rural West Virginia, yet each of them would climb well above the poverty line and rise to the top of their chosen professions. Their road began in Aaron's Fork with no well or even an outdoor toilet. Drinking water was provided by a spring that bubbled out of the ground and they "did their business" behind a large rock near a creek. It was years before they got a radio and in the early years received no newspapers or magazines to learn about the "outside" world. But one by one, they left Aaron's Fork and moved into mainstream America, their mixed personalities as mixed as the country growing up with them. Brother David made a career out of drinking from the government trough of Illinois, a quiet, devoted, likeable team player who worked for a time with a man who is probably most famous for being Monica Lewinsky's lover. Brother Roger is a marathon runner who has become an accomplished sophisticate, acting as Director of Public Affairs for DuPont Pharmaceuticals and a food critic (as well as a former wine columnist) for USA Today. Brother Ed became a college English teacher and long-time editor for Billboard magazine. He is probably one of the most honest observers of the follies of the human race, a truly funny vegetarian who attaches himself to common sense in its purest form. He hates everything from religion to sports, to dancing, to small talk, to pierced ears and tattoes. Far from being self-righteous, he is his own worst critic. A fourth brother, Darrell, who was the eldest, died before this book was written, but his life was clearly influenced by the others, as was their late mother, Mary Elizabeth, whose death in 1988 drew the three together again. In "The Roads That Brought Us Home" David, Roger and Ed speak to the reader as if he or she were the fourth person in the room, listening as the grown-up boys trade memories about their separate but overlapping lives. The book is their story, but it's also yours and mine.

This book gives a fantastic blend of humor, heritage and home spun warmth. "Family" becomes increasingly important as we progress in years and "Roads" certainly emphasizes that point in great fashion. If this book was as enjoyable to write as it was to read the authors my feel a great sense of satisfaction.

Rarely does a book capture the seemingly horrors of growing up in such poverty, that one has to go to the bathroom outside. I say "seemingly horrors," because the rest of us might view such poverty as tragic, while the authors of this book didn't even care how poor they were because they were so rich with love. Using their poverty as a catalyst to become successful, as oppossed to whiney, self-pitying psychobabblists, the authors tell, with alarming honesty at times, of their individual triumphs(and failures) from the 1930's-1990's. Edward Morris,age 63, is the former country editor for the National magazine, "Billboard." David Morris,age 59, is retired after spending 34 years with the state of Illinois. The youngest living brother, Roger, age 55, is the director of public affairs for DuPont Pharmaceuticals in Wilmington, Del. He was also a wine columnist for USA Today. While very different in their style of dress, careers and political belief, Edward,David and Roger Morris are held together by the common thread of a loving family. Having drifted apart for many years, the death of the matriarch of the family, Mary Morris, brings these men back together. Delighting in their differences and arguing politics has now become one of their favorite pastimes, but not before you read how each brother travelled different paths to end up on the same road. Delightfully humorous, refreshingly honest and pure, the Morris brothers not only take us with them on their journey dating back to the depression through the mid 90's, but even allow the reader to project his/her own feelings of each decade. This book is a "must read" for anyone who has ever faced what seemed like insurmountable obstacles,only to taste the sweet victory of success. Undoubtably, this book will inspire those who feel like life stacked the deck against them, and will reaffirm the opportuniy for a bright future for anyone who wants it. Just ask the Morris Brothers.

Sharon Cobb, MSNBC contributor

Precious! Poignant! Absolutely wonderful book. I was struck by the great writing style. I could hear Portwood telling the stories, with such thoughtfulness, sensitivity and humor. There are lovely portraits of family members, told with a gentle, wry smile. It is definitely a special treasure.

I could see similarities to my childhood in southern Wisconsin: the sense of community and extended family, the frugality of Depression generation parents, a mother who was more critical than nurturing, the need to grow up fast and take on adult responsibilities with younger siblings, the joy of spending time with story-telling elders. And the strong emphasis on education--I must have been at least 10 before I realized that not everyone went to the University of Wisconsin and that some didn't go to college at all!

I didn't deal with the pervasive racism which Portwood faced and our community was a particularly prosperous farming community, with little poverty. Still, much of her story resonates with me. This is a wonderful story of a resiliant and strong family. I loved it.

Precious! Poignant! Absolutely wonderful book. I was struck by the great writing style. I could hear Portwood telling the stories, with such thoughtfulness, sensitivity and humor. There are lovely portraits of family members, told with a gentle, wry smile. It is definitely a special treasure.

I could see similarities to my childhood in southern Wisconsin: the sense of community and extended family, the frugality of Depression generation parents, a mother who was more critical than nurturing, the need to grow up fast and take on adult responsibilities with younger siblings, the joy of spending time with story-telling elders. And the strong emphasis on education--I must have been at least 10 before I realized that not everyone went to the University of Wisconsin and that some didn't go to college at all!

I didn't deal with the pervasive racism which Portwood faced and our community was a particularly prosperous farming community, with little poverty. Still, much of her story resonates with me. This is a wonderful story of a resiliant and strong family. I loved it.

I read this book in a day and found myself drawn in by the absorbing stories of family life and story telling. Not an autobiography in the traditional sense, Portwood instead uses the mechanism of story telling -- practiced over her family for generations -- to tell about her own life and her family in rural Illinois. Her account is touching, often humorous, sometimes sorrowful, and overall inspirational. Although Portwood explicitly addresses the issue of segregation and racial discrimination (as well as black resistance to oppression), her stories will also resonate with anyone interested in everyday life in rural communities in the 20th century. This book would also be appropriate for readers in junior high and high school.