Southern Books

I know for a fact that Ben Feinberg has watched over one hundred hours of "I Dream of Jeanie."

But if that's not enough to convince you to buy his book, you might consider the actual subject matter. How do people in small places not overcome by the hegemony of time and space most people reading this website live with conceive of time and space? Feinberg looks at this, dealing with different categories of time and such from the perspective of the Sierra Mazteca. How do you get to Oaxaca de Juarez from Juatla? Where is the United States, and who are these weird tourists?

Read the book for the answers to these questions and more.

I've been interested in the Sierra Mazateca for years-- after spending time there, I read the handful of books written about it, yet felt that there was much more to be said. I was thrilled to discover that last year, someone finally wrote a well-researched ethnography about it. Feinberg's book is packed with fascinating observations and reflections on the way people in the Sierra Mazateca understand and talk about their lives, history, and "culture." I would recommend this book to anyone with a background in anthropology or a similar field who is interested in cultural identity negotiation and "indigenous-ness," Oaxaca, sacred mushrooms, and folklore about devils and caves.

His analysis is brilliant. If you are unsatisfied after reading through once, then I suggest you purchase another copy and read it over again.

I know for a fact that Ben Feinberg has eaten Armour(tm) Potted Meat Food Product.

Be captivated by a story with unforgetable characters. Your heart will identify with the most disappointing reality of Sarah Witt's life but more importantly you will understand the final decison that she had to make, all for love.

Saru Mubvakure's debut novel A Disappointing Truth: The Tragic Story of Sarah Witt takes us along with Sarah Witt as she moves from one life-altering event to another. Our heart breaks for her as she encounters and struggles to rise above the tragic circumstances in her young life. Our stomach turns along with hers as she embarks on the journey to unearth the truth behind the snippets of stories she has been hearing. We experience every emotion with her because Saru's descriptions are so precise, so real, so detailed. Saru peels away layers of lies and deception with painstaking details that leave us in no doubt of the depth of human depravity, racial hatred, true friendship and unfailing love.

In true romance-novel style, in the end, the boy gets the girl and as they walk off into the sunset together. Sarah knows that she can withstand anything because the worse has already happened. She has survived the most disappointing truth. Her heart is secure in the love of her life and her faith is intact.

"Love ignores the faults. And that's why no matter what, our love is forever."

In Sarudzai Mubvakure's debut novel, A Disappointing Truth: The Tragic Life of Sarah Witt, the lead character so frequently encounters catastrophic events that forgiveness does not seem to have a place in her life. But it is the choice to forgive that ultimately leads the young, bi-racial woman to unconditional love and true happiness. Mubvakure's story unfolds in London, New York, Zimbabwe and ends in Scotland were Sarah accepts the limitations of those who have caused her harm and makes the decision to move forward in her life.

In the fall of 1971, a young woman is violently raped in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Her assault will greatly impact the lives of several people, including Farai, the young boy who witnesses the crime and a group of English entrepreneurs who have set up businesses in Rhodesia to make their fortunes. The members of the "English Boys Club" become deeply involved in the plight of this young woman whose attack results in the birth of a daughter.

The opening scene of the book is Sarah Witt's wedding. From there, the author unfolds the details of Sarah's life starting with her matriculation at a notable arts college in New York City. Sarah was raised by her father George Witt and her paternal grandmother. She was told that her mother, a black Rhodesian, died when Sarah was two-years-old. Her father passes before she journeys to America to attend school. As an Art History and Music major, Sarah makes friends who will remain loyal to her throughout ordeals that occur as she finishes school (sexual assault by her mentor) and during her early adult life (separation from her church and the murder of her first husband in front of her). As Sarah's own multi-layered story escalates, the details of the secretive English Boys Club slowly unravel as her Uncle Peter and the group's head man, Algeron Fairbanks, find it increasingly difficult to hold on to the secrets of their shared past. When Sarah decides to seek out information about her mother, the truth that surfaces is startling.

The author displays a strong command of plot and characterization. Sarah and those closest to her are fully formed personalities who become easily familiar as they appear throughout this 700 plus page tome. The protagonist is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, dynamic woman who actively serves any community she finds herself a part of. While Sarah works hard and is successful in both music and business, the murky details of her mother's life plague her. Mubvakure offers the reader vivid descriptions of the global setting in which the story takes place. On occasion, the author does repeat too much of the plot that the reader has already been informed of, possibly because the book is quite long. With the acumen shown in this book, Mubvakure is sure to grow into the type of writer who trusts her readers' memories and thus offers just enough information to spark recollection.

As Sarah is slowly enlightened about her parent's past and the consequences of her own conception, the author infuses the character with a strength that enables the young woman to accept the string of lies that she has believed all of her life and to transform into a person with the maturity required to choose forgiveness.

A Disappointing Truth: The Tragic Story of Sarah Witt is overflowing with sadness and tragedy, but the author offers hope throughout the tale. Mubvakure challenges our understanding of what humans can endure and how they can come out improved and drenched in love on the other side.

This book is a combination of romance & suspence, well worth a read. I couldn't wait to see how it ended. Funny twist at the end .i thoroughly enjoyed it. Good work Miss Saru well done

Dixie Dictionary I found the book very useful to refresh my vocabulary for Southern speech. Being born in the south I should understand most of what is being said, however, I've worked in California for over twenty-five years and just returned home to find that I haven't a clue as to what people are telling me. I'm a shamed face southern boy who has to learn to talk Southern all over again. Now it's easy thanks to The Dixie Dictionary. It really is a funny informative book also a great tool for writers who need Southern speech in their stories.

It's smaller in trim size than I thought it would be but handy and useful none the less. It's formatted like a dicitonary but it doesn't give background origins of the words/sayings. Almost as if you are a foreigner heading to the South and need a quick translation guide. For deeper meanings of the words you would need to go the internet.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this dictionary. This is probably the richest collection of Southern words in print. It is true that there are few etymologies provided and the entries are all concise. However, I would much rather have the work as it stands as opposed to having only half the number of entries with a detailed analysis. In fact many of the most interesting entries (i.e. those petaining to untranslateable concepts) do have a longer explanation. There are many entries contained here which cannot be found in Robert Hendrickson's "Whistlin' Dixie". On the other hand, there are a few entries Hendrickson uses that cannot be found here. Hendrickson also provides a more detailed descritpion of each entry and perhaps has slightly more toponymous expressions. If you are in doubt as to which dictionary to buy then, if you really love this dialect of American English, I strongly recommend that you buy BOTH. The two important works on Southern speech complement the other and are both reasonably priced.
First of all, I would like to say that "The Dixie Dictionary" is extremely rich in folklore entries. For instance, there are fascinating terms like 'belling' (a wedding custom), 'dumb cake' (a cake made in silence and used for fortune telling) and 'infare' (a feast the day after the wedding). There are literally dozens of unique words pertaining to various kinds of legendary monsters such as the 'Bingbuffer', the 'clew bird' and the 'galoopus' etc. There are also words connected with folk healing like 'chamber lye', 'nanny tea' and 'fasting spittle' as well as call words used to command animals (e.g. 'coo-sheep/coon-nan' and 'sukee' , etc.). Folk expressions concerning the weather and seasons are also represented in entries like 'blackberry winter' and 'dogwood winter' etc.
There are also many terms taken from the Civil War like 'copperhead' (a Northerner/Yankee who sympathised with the South. There are many nicknames e.g. 'Rackensack' (someone from Arkansaw) and a 'Cracker' (someone either from Georgia or Florida) etc. in addition to toponymous phrases like the 'Carolina robin' (smoked herring), 'Charsleston eagle' (buzzard) and 'Arkansas toothpick' (bowie knife) etc.
Another category of terms which reflects the devout history of the people is the religious terminology like 'amen corner', 'pound' (party for a new preacher), 'toadstool churches' (which grow up as a result of revivals) and 'pokeweed religion' etc. There are also countless terms associated with tobacco, moonshine/whiskey and games like marbles. Several entries do not constitute distinct words as such but rather dialect variants/different pronunciation e.g. 'ovair' (over there), 'leben' (eleven) and 'zactly' (exactly). Talking of the last word 'zactly', dialectologists, will be interested to encounter certain similarities with some West Country British dialects (which often use 'z' in place of 's'). For instance, in the Cornish dialect (many terms of which are derived from an ancient language akin to Welsh not English) I recognised the following entries : 'ashcat', 'cap'n', 'kilt', 'emmet' (meaning ant - in West Cornwall it is 'muryan' yet 'emmet is used in E.Cornwall and in Devon), 'furmety' and 'rassle' etc. This leads me to postulate that Cornish miners may well have settled in some places in the South.If any fellow-readers would like to purchase a Cornish dialect dictionary then search on this site (there are good dictionaries available by Jago, Phillipps and Ivey). If they are not available in Amazon.com then try the Amazon.uk branch. As you can probably detect from my review, I found this work most interesting. It is an important contribution to the culture of the South and to dialectology.

Compiled and edited by southern journalist Thomas W. Howard, The Dixie Dictionary: An Introduction To The Southern Language is a fun, enjoyable, and useful glossary of terms unique to American Southern English dialects. From "all vine and no 'taters" (a phrase to describe someone who is all talk and no action) to "whistle-pig" (groundhog), The Dixie Dictionary is packed from cover to cover with wry, flavorful phrases that most northerners have likely never heard of. Highly recommended for writers looking to pen southern-style dialogue, as well as anyone planning to visit or move to the South, or who just wants to have a good time paging through some truly unique and eyebrow-raising expressions, The Dixie Dictionary is a welcome contribution to personal and academic Language Studies reference collections.

Dog Tags Yapping: The World War II Letters Of A Combat GI offers a glimpse into the catalyst of World War II through the eyes of former GI M. D. Elevitch, who earned the Purple Heart, oak-leaf cluster, and the Combat Infantryman's badge during his service. Collecting Elevitch's correspondence during the war, and illustrated with black-and-white photographs, Dog Tags Yapping is an honest and vividly human account of daily life, hard times, joys and terrible travails. Highly recommended.

Morton Elevitch, by saving the letters he wrote to his family during the war, provides a unique memoir for our pleasure and information--his army experience in the central event of the Twentieth Century. The insightful and witty portayals of events and individuals in his collection of letters, along with his drawings, give the reader an insider's view of an eighteen year old becoming a soldier. I was in the same combat division (94th) and the same campaign, wounded two days before him, and his letters vividly represent what it was like to live and fight alongside soldiers of similar ages from so many different places. Great yapping, M.D.!

A very "witty", and at the same time, "sensitive", soulsearching view of a Soldier's "innerworkings", as he finds himself in the midst of a Survival/Killing Network that was WWII.
With his cartoons, his astute observations and written private thoughts in the form of Letters, you really get to experience what it was like to live as a soldier day to day in the trenches, while still remaining an intact Individual.

Bill & Gloria Broder from Sausalito, California USA ----
We were bowled over by Dog Tags Yapping . It is the most compelling war memoir we have ever read. Such fresh, original, buoyant,gorgeously-written letters. The battle scenes - so graphic , so immediate, so painful- are the best we've ever read. Thank you for having put the war into the your very special voice.
-- reprinted by persmission Oct 7, 2004

Some books are written. Others, like this one, are dug out from archives and special collections and less obvious sources to form a unique biography of an early California renaissance man who might've done more for his inchoate state than anybody not residing in the governor's office. As Nat Read reminds us, Don Benito Wilson has his name on countless street signs and schools and other places all around Southern California because at one time he just about owned half of LA as it today, including Pasadena and downtown LA. Indeed, had it not been for his work to establish an American govt. as the County's first clerk (think about that), who knows how different the region's might've turned out. This bio is not for everybody. There are passages of sweet wordsmithing and high drama, as when DBW fought to near death with an Indian, taking a arrow in the shoulder (among many other rugged injuries) and sections so dense with parcel info. and geographical specs. it's almost footnotish. Which is not to say it's not interesting, and orginal because it is. Read, a local PR man with a helluva colorful history himself as ad-man, Navy officer and writer, should be congratulated for working in his offhours to produce such an extraordinary effort. You almost can feel him carving out Wilson's legacy just as Wilson carved out his vision of the Republic as landowner, frontier man and early gov't. servant. For the most part, this is a very readable story, not flamboyantly overdone nor dishonest, and because of the nature of the subject, took oodles of digging, cross-referencing and ordering to knock into story shape. Hold the book up the light and Read's obsession to get everything he could radiates back. As it should. If you're interested in Southern California history -- really interested that is, and not just dabbling in Kevin Starr, this should be on your shelf with lots of dog-eared pages. It's sitting on my own that way.

(For the record, I'm a writer and freelance reporter myself, and I've crossed swords with Nat before in working on 710-freeway pieces. I'd never known during all those stories I was on the other side of the table from a fellow writer with some serious chops.)

A key player in Los Angeles History, very informative book with enough human interest to keep those of us who are more interested in people's stories than just dates and facts, interested.

Benjamin Wilson lead an astonishing life, and was the perfect man to arrive in Mexican California. Though he is largely known today only through the eponomous "Mt. Wilson", he created much of what we now see in Southern California. This book is a spectacular vista into that world, and on one of the men who shaped it.

Having to leave home as a teen, he became both a merchant and a mountain man, learning both commerce and the trapping skills of the Indians. Fleeing Santa Fe at age 30, he arrived in California with the first overland settlers in 1841. Intending to become a merchant in China, he failed (thrice) to make the boat from San Francisco, and instead bought a ranch near the San Gabriel mission - owning what we now call Riverside, California.

His adventures do not merely parallel the development of California; largely, they MAKE the development of California. He spanned both the Mexican and American eras, in marriage, politics, agriculture, commerce, railroads, Indian affairs, and especially real estate.

Though never taking Mexican citizenship, he married the daughter of a local don, became alcalde of the Riverside area, and finally joined the last Mexican government of Los Angeles. He was elected the first clerk of the new American Los Angeles, and its second mayor. As a state senator, he represented ALL of Southern California -- only a few thousand people.

The state was unbelieveably tiny. Many of the few hundred that voted in his elections in Los Angeles were drunks and Indians, rounded up the night before and paid (liquor or coin) to vote (as many times as possible). The center of the state popultion was *north* of San Francisco, as men poured in to the state to mine gold, and the few ranchers of Southern California raised the cattle to feed them.

On the land that B. J. Wilson owned, one million people now live. He created the first "gated community" in California -- when he fenced in the ranch that we now call Beverly Hills. He made much of what is now Pasadena, Altadena, and San Marino, both establishing the his vineyard at the foot of Lake Avenue, and dividing and developing his property for both Huntington (San Marino, Huntington Library) and for the Hoosiers (Pasadena). His real estate hands were in San Pedro (with Banning, owning the landing, developing the railroad, providing the US Army barracks), the Ballona marshlands (Marina del Rey), and downtown LA (especially the 12 acre site on the central plaza where Union Station now is). The road he cut up "Wilson's Mountain" for timber has later led to hotels, a major astronomical observatory complex, and to the home of nearly all Los Angeles's TV broadcast antennae.

His legacy is largely California itself, as his son failed into suicide, and the son-in-law to whom he turned over his vineyard lacked Wilson's imagination and vision. His one famous descedent was his grandson, Gen. George S. Patton, a man who shaped twentieth century events with the same gusto his grandfather had in the nineteenth.

Wilson's true legacy was the bussling city he helped create, developing it from dusty backwater adobe to thriving market town, atwitter with telegraph lines and railroads.

This book is not so much a single, chronological, narrative story as it is a collection of vignettes, anecdotes, and short stories about all the aspects of Wilson's life, with chapters on his mountain days, politics, the vineyard, Pasadena, San Pedro, the Mexican-American War, properties, railroads, etc. The material was extensively researched, from both first- and second-hand sources, and extensively footnoted. (Much of the research was done at the Huntington Library, just east of where Wilson's vineyard ranch-house stood.) This will be, for the twenty-first century, the definitive biography of a creator of nineteenth century California.

This is a beautifully crafted narrative which describes the struggles associated with California's coming of age through the lens of one of its first mayors. Don Benito lived a colorful life, and the author presents it in a series of vignettes and carefully researched anecdotes. By providing context to Don Benito's personal story, the author presents a concise history of California, from the first Spanish settlers and their missions up to references to modern L.A., and how it was shaped by the movers and shakers of the 19th century. Although it is hard to put down, you can pick it up again, easily, without fear of losing your place in the story, since the chapters are short and self-contained. The writing is clear and compact, and it is a fascinating historical document. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves a good story.

I borrowed this book from the library and after finding at least 20 recipes I wanted to copy (and I was only through a third of it!) I bought this book. Ms. Carter has developed wonderful, homey recipes. You can practically smell her cooking as you read along! Her stories are delightful as well. I recommend this book as a true tribute to Soul Food at its best! Without losing any of the taste, she has succeeded in creating low fat meals that anyone would love! Bravo!

I love cookbooks that speak to the reader as this one did. It was a virtual tour of the author's kitchen

This is an excellent culinary memoir; the recipes are updated, defatted, and most importantly, delicious! 300 recipes in all--regional, family favorites--a new twist on early American soul.

I cook often, for big dinners and small ones, and I'm always on the lookout for new tastes and flavors. That's exactly why I loved this book so much! I mean, Soul Food that was light, elegant and tasted like fine French cooking--and was easy to prepare besides? I've devoured Down Home Wholesome, cooking at least half of the recipes within it--scrumptious! Plus, I really loved the warm way the author has with talking about her family, her reminiscences of her experiences with these foods, and her filling in the blanks on how the slave diet contributed to the length and breadth of the American palate. TRY THIS BOOK - YOU WON'T REGRET IT

Hannah is a slave from the Stafford plantation sent to Charleston, South Carolina with Elizabeth to learn dress making skills while she is at boarding school. It gets her away the boredom of plantation life, adds to her value as a slave, and also allows her to help other runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad. She enjoys her work very much and has met a young man, a free man of color named Joshua and the two are close friends, possibly more; but Hannah has sworn to never fall in love or marry until she has better control of her future. She wants to make her own choices, not have them decided for her and she doesn't want to always have to worry about the fact that her children can and would be taken for her and sold to someone else.

While in Charleston, her employer tells her that due to the war, she can no longer afford to keep Hannah and that she is being sent back to Virginia. This upsets Hannah greatly and she tells Elizabeth, who decides to come back with her, if only to help Hannah avoid her father's wrath; the man is a tyrant at home and any slave caught in it could be punished by a whipping or death. Hannah does a good job of avoiding him and continues to work on the Underground Railroad, using it herself one night to escape with Joshua and a group of slaves when he was passing by.

They make it to freedom but Hannah soon comes back down south to get a young slave girl they had met on the run and discovers that Elizabeth has been locked into her bedroom for disobeying her father and trying to buy Hannah back when he sold Hannah and Joshua to the auction block. Elizabeth's brother tried to help her and was thrown out for his actions, leaving for their cousin Lucy's home in Washington City. Their father has told everyone that Elizabeth has lost her mind and that's why she's locked up. Hannah breaks Elizabeth out and the group of three takes off up north. While on the run Hannah and Elizabeth talk and while asking if Hannah knows who her father is, Elizabeth reveals that she's overheard other women talking about the fact that Hannah looks a lot like her.

I love this series, I'm so happy I found the third book in it, wish I could find the fourth.

Hannah is a slave girl on the Stafford plantation in Virginia. She risks her life to help other slaves escape, and one dark night, Hannah herself takes a daring run for freedom. But she's caught, and now she can lose everything - her life, her freedom, and the love of her life.

it seems cheryl zach has done it again. this book tells about heartbreak and compassion. during the civil war, hannah, who was trying to escape, is caught by her slave master. through courage and love, hannah and elizabeth stafford manage to escape slavery's clutches.

This book mixed action, adventure, and romance all in one. I really enjoyed this book because it protrayed a young Afican-American girl as having courage and an education do to the time period it set in. I commend the author for writing a novel with the combination and suspense every book should have. I look forward to reading the others in the series.

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This is a magnificent book. Fantastic readings and pictures that hold you to the events and give you a deeper understanding of what is going on during this time. Charts and graphs keep your perspective grounded. I highly recommend this book to anyone who interested in African American studies or to hear the truth about history.

This work does an excellent job of describing how Washington did not really want "vocational" education, but instead "industrial" education, to educate blacks for a "place" and stifle dissent. It also does a good job of describing the "softer" discrimination philosophy of the North, and contextualizing the Northern industrialists, who saw industrial education as a way to pit blacks and immigrants against each other. An excellent discussion of black education, the fights of teacher training, and uplift.

This book represents a well documented work. Using primary sources, Anderson describes the heroic African American efforts to gain, through education, the participatory citizenship status which they deserved. In the process, he exposes the Caucasian American (both northern and southern) efforts to blantantly repress these education efforts and to disenfranchise African Americans of their due. History lessons on this book may be applied to our contemporary educational setting.

Anderson employs a large number of statistics and examples to support his case. The nature of the book's content requires such documentation to dispell historical myths which history textbooks commonly espouse however.

This book is an excellent read for history and education enthusists, as well as anyone else interested in opening their minds.

Overall this book is quite good, I think it is geared more toward people living in Florida than people like me who are planning a trip. I wish it had more travel info and maps. I also wish it had more pictures than it does, so you could see the places it talks about which would help out a lot.

As a person who has spent a good deal of time in many of the places listed in "Exploring Wild South Florida: A Guide to Finding the Natural Areas and Wildlife of the Southern Peninsula and the Florida Keys" I can say that it is a thorough, accurate, and informative guide to the South Florida area. This book is specifically made for the person who likes to explore areas that are still predominantly in their natural condition. If you are looking for a landscaped park to hike through then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for places where you are likely to see endangered species, the only air conditioning may be a breeze, and you may see very few people (if anyone) during your hike then this is the book you are looking for.

Some places are truly remote and you may be on your own finding your way around (like the Florida Everglades) and some are less remote and may even have boardwalks through the forest to make your trip easier. The book starts with an extensive overview of everything you need to know about southern Florida - weather, what to wear, animals and plants to be cautious of, information on the various park systems, and anything else that you might have a question about when planning a trip.

One of the nicer features of the book is a section on the various habitats that you are likely to encounter in south Florida. The author does an excellent job of explaining estuaries, coral reefs, cypress stands, mangroves, marshes, hammocks and other habitats. She covers what qualifies them as a specific habitat, what you should look for and expect in each of them and general educational information on each of them.

She then covers special wildlife and unwanted pests before moving into the Federal Lands part of the book that actually starts the information on each site. When she gets to the specific sites she provides all the information that you will need to plan a trip there. She covers the local habitats you might find, wildlife, facilities, and complete contact information (worth the price of the book by itself).

A highly recommended read for those who think camping equipment should not involve the word Winnebego.

My title sums the book up rather well. If you are going to South Florida with viewing nature and wildlife as one of your goals, you'll find the book extremely useful. If seeing the show at the Alligator Farm and the Seaquarium fills your need for nature, you probably won't need the book. Assuming you do use the book, you will appreciate the amount of detail it includes, though you'll probably wish for better maps and more illustrations! Despite this, highly recommended if you really want a book of this type.

We used this excellent book before and during our birdwatching trip to South Florida this spring. It was a useful complement to Bill Prantys 'A Birder's Guide to Florida'. In comparison to the latter book, you get more general information about the wildlife at different locationts and especially about facilities (e.g. bathrooms, food) at different wildlife refuges and parts of the Everglades National Park. In addition, there is a good introduction about different biotopes and 'special' animals and a stirring depiction of the passage of hurricane 'Andrew' over South Florida.

Fantastic read! Oftentimes, it seems as though Delbridge is in the room with you, telling her life story over gin and tonic. Her ability to capture southern rhetoric and feeling in writing is second to none. If you grew up in the south, the north, North America or anywhere else on the globe, there is something in this book that you can appreciate.

I am simply amazed by this book. I actually sat down and started reading, and did not stop until the back cover was the next page. This book is not so much one long story as it is a collection of short stories about Melissa Delbridge's youth. She is a master storyteller who entrances the reader in her conversational prose. This book has become my favorite piece of literature, and I will treasure it forever.

This is one of those books that pulls you in and continues to hold you even after the last page has been turned. I always know I've read something amazing when I'm sad to see it end. Hey Delbridge, KEEP WRITING.

Southern culture and religion blend in FAMILY BIBLE, a survey of personal history and growing up Southern that examines sex, religion and family connections in 1960s Tuscaloosa. It's especially recommended for general-interest collections strong in either Southern culture or regional religion and autobiography, blending elements of all three in a chatty, folksy and intriguing story easy to read and thoughtful in presentation.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Melissa Delbridge wrote this memoir of her childhood and early adult years in the Southern language which is to say that it is filled with those experiences and nuances that her compatriots will recognize with ease. If you are not Southern, or not otherwise sensitized, you may miss shadings, nuances, and meanings gloriously abundant. Having grown up in "the next county over" - our ancestors pioneered these places - the delicacies were a constant delight, or lesson.

The author wrote intimately about her life before she became a literary lady, although beginnings are visible. One might call it true confessions, growing up in Alabama (or elsewhere) in the 1960s and 1970s, or revelations to guide us beyond our dysfunctional or "evil" families. There is all that, but there is far more for many of us. Women are its heroines and victims, but you could, some particularities aside, substitute men's names, the universality maintained.

By chance, I read several early chapters, then all the others, saving the last for the next day. Afterward I realized that I had rather accidentally fallen upon three major parts. The early chapters were nostalgic, very Southern so familiar. It is "going to be a hoot," I thought.

Continuing to read, I quickly realized that this story is a heavy. These anecdotes and stories, contrasted to the lilt of the author's words, are serious life, all happenings that others have managed or not. Her passage over the decades was stormy and bumpy, part self-inflicted and part sent by the gods, DNA, the age, or whatever.

Sometimes the tales jump from one to the other without obvious sequitur, momentarily jogging the reader. However, Ms Delbridge writes as she speaks, and therein is much charm. She is right there on the porch talking to us, as many of us would likely do.

The final chapter is a brilliant literary stroke, illuminating all that came before it. Here are the meanings of what we read and experienced in our memories and psyches. This capstone raises this book to a particularly high level of artistry.