Book picks similar to
Fruitcake : Memories of Truman Capote and Sook by Marie Rudisill
southern
travel-and-memoir
alabama
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Breaking Barriers to Your Heart
Monica Walters - 2019
After being hurt countless times by men, she shut her innermost feelings and desires off from men. Focusing on being happy with herself was her main agenda. Having a great job at the federal prison and owning her independence, Shana has everything. However, when she meets Red Anderson at the Houston Livestock Show, everything changes. Life has finally become worth living for Craig 'Red' Anderson. Having a horrible childhood, then growing up a ward of the state wasn't exactly a cake walk. After a chance encounter with a cowboy, his life is changed forever. Channeling his energy into learning to be the best steer wrestler in the world, Red Anderson is able to push out all the negativity in his life. Honing his skills and learning from the best, Legend Semien, Red becomes a force to deal with in the rodeo arena, but in life, another force brings him to his knees. Shana Albert comes in Red's life like a whirlwind and swallows him whole. Fighting demons of their past, it seems that Red and Shana face drama at every turn and difficulties of that drama threaten to tear them apart. Both being stubborn, opinionated individuals, causes unnecessary rifts that put their relationship on the line. Will Red and Shana finally figure out what loving one another is all about? Or will they decide to cut their losses and chalk it up as a lesson learned?
When Did We Lose Harriet?
Patricia Sprinkle - 1997
She may be a runaway, a crime victim, or both. What’s amazing is other people’s lack of concern. Just one person cares that she’s gone: a spunky amateur sleuth on the sunset end of sixty. Armed with razor-sharp insight, a salty wit, and tenacious faith, MacLaren Yarbrough follows a trail of clues -- a wisp of a hint, a shadow of a lie -- in search of answers to questions that come hot and fast and that grow increasingly alarming. How did a fifteen-year-old girl come across a large sum of money? Why did she hide it instead of taking it with her? Where is she now? And who is willing to kill to keep MacLaren from probing too far? Masked by Dixie charm and the scent of honeysuckle, a deadly secret lies coiled . . . one that holds the ultimate answer to the question, When Did We Lose Harriet? When Did We Lose Harriet? is the first of the MacLaren Yarbrough Mysteries, featuring plucky, sixty-some heroine MacLaren Yarbrough. Look for further books in this series in the near future.
Under Water: A Natural Disaster Memoir
Owen Grimenstein - 2016
This memoir is the true, first-hand account of one man’s survival during the Nashville floods of 2010, as entire neighborhoods were submerged, streets ran like rapids, and lives were lost. Destruction in communities and businesses was both total and personal, as Owen Grimenstein lost his home, most of his possessions, and very nearly, his own life. But what would emerge triumphant from the depths of such profound darkness was a community of family, friends, and strangers far more steeped in love, hope, and kindness than they could ever possibly fathom… “Reliving the Nashville flood is painful but inspiring; no one tells the story better than Owen. [Under Water: A Natural Disaster Memoir] will be a key part of Nashville's history and a guide to our future. People like Owen make Nashville the envy of America." —U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper“The story of one couple's strength and spirit is told beautifully by Owen Grimenstein. Owen captures the fear and stress that occurs in a natural disaster but also captures the fortitude and courage that was the response of so many individuals and families.” —Former Nashville mayor Karl Dean"Owen Grimenstein captures the will to survive, neighbors helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers. Under Water is a reliving of the pounding rain and rising water. It is also a reliving of how in a time of great need Nashville responded." —Bob Mueller, News 2 WKRN-TV anchor"Mr. Grimenstein’s memoir masterfully recounts the historical and devastating flood of May 2010 that gravely impacted the Nashville area and how the community came together to build back all that nature destroyed." —Nancy Stephens, editor, The Fairview Observer“The author’s words inspire us towards resilience and perseverance. Under Water stirs us to choose hope when circumstances seem hopeless, to cherish our families, and to come alongside and give generously to our suffering neighbors.” —Bunny Bennett, author of God Thinks I’m Beautiful“Owen takes the reader on a perilous journey through one of [Nashville's] most difficult times. This is an account that everyone needs to read. Frankly, this book is so well written it should be recognized by Nashville’s mayor Megan Barry as an official historical document.” —Bob Williams, author of Music City MacabreCheck out Under Water: A Natural Disaster Memoir on the news here: http://www.wsmv.com/clip/13160418/flo...
The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery
Linda Garland Page - 1984
The food is nutritious, easy to prepare, and totally unpretentious, including recipes for potato candy, cry-baby cookies, lime pickles, and much more.
Shaking the Gates of Hell: A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revolution
John Archibald - 2021
By the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist for The Birmingham News.My dad was a Methodist preacher and his dad was a Methodist preacher, writes John Archibald. It goes all the way back on both sides of my family. When I am at my best, I think it comes from that sermon place.Everything Archibald knows and believes about life is refracted through the stained glass of the Southern church. It had everything to do with people. And fairness. And compassion.In Shaking the Gates of Hell, Archibald asks: Can a good person remain silent in the face of discrimination and horror, and still be a good person?Archibald had seen his father, the Rev. Robert L. Archibald, Jr., the son and grandson of Methodist preachers, as a moral authority, a moderate and a moderating force during the racial turbulence of the '60s, a loving and dependable parent, a forgiving and attentive minister, a man many Alabamians came to see as a saint. But was that enough? Even though Archibald grew up in Alabama in the heart of the civil rights movement, he could recall few words about racial rights or wrongs from his father's pulpit at a time the South seethed, and this began to haunt him.In this moving and powerful book, Archibald writes of his complex search, and of the conspiracy of silence his father faced in the South, in the Methodist Church and in the greater Christian church. Those who spoke too loudly were punished, or banished, or worse. Archibald's father was warned to guard his words on issues of race to protect his family, and he did. He spoke to his flock in the safety of parable, and trusted in the goodness of others, even when they earned none of it, rising through the ranks of the Methodist Church, and teaching his family lessons in kindness and humanity, and devotion to nature and the Earth.Archibald writes of this difficult, at times uncomfortable, reckoning with his past in this unadorned, affecting book of growth and evolution.
Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution
Diane McWhorter - 2001
That spring, child demonstrators faced down police dogs and fire hoses in huge nonviolent marches for desegregation. A few months later, Ku Klux Klansmen retaliated by bombing the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and killing four young black girls. Diane McWhorter, journalist and daughter of a prominent Birmingham family, weaves together police and FBI documents, interviews with black activists and former Klansmen, and personal memories into an extraordinary narrative of the city, the personalities, and the events that brought about America's second emancipation.
The Savannah Madam
Tom Turner - 2020
Maybe both.To crack it, the sisters must dive deep into a murky demimonde of crooked cops, low-rent thugs and high-class brothels.In the middle of it all, Jackie falls for hunky homicide cop, Harry Bull. Harry is from an old Savannah family but… might just have a skeleton or two rattling around in his closet.
The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement
Bob Zellner - 2008
In the early 1960s, when Bob Zellner's professors and classmates at a small church school in Alabama thought he was crazy for even wanting to do research on civil rights, it was nothing short of remarkable. Now, in his long-awaited memoir, Zellner tells how one white Alabamian joined ranks with the black students who were sitting-in, marching, fighting, and sometimes dying to challenge the Southern "way of life" he had been raised on but rejected. Decades later, he is still protesting on behalf of social change and equal rights. Fortunately, he took the time, with co-author Constance Curry, to write down his memories and reflections. He was in all the campaigns and was close to all the major figures. He was beaten, arrested, and reviled by some but admired and revered by others. The Wrong Side of Murder Creek, winner of the 2009 Lillian Smith Book Award, is Bob Zellner's larger-than-life story, and it was worth waiting for.
Night on Fire
Ronald Kidd - 2015
As equality spreads across the country and the Civil Rights Movement gathers momentum, Billie can't help but feel stuck--and helpless--in a stubborn town too set in its ways to realize that the world is passing it by. So when Billie learns that the Freedom Riders, a group of peace activists riding interstate buses to protest segregation, will be traveling through Anniston on their way to Montgomery, she thinks that maybe change is finally coming and her quiet little town will shed itself of its antiquated views. But what starts as a series of angry grumbles soon turns to brutality as Anniston residents show just how deep their racism runs. The Freedom Riders will resume their ride to Montgomery, and Billie is now faced with a choice: stand idly by in silence or take a stand for what she believes in. Through her own decisions and actions and a few unlikely friendships, Billie is about to come to grips with the deep-seated prejudice of those she once thought she knew, and with her own inherent racism that she didn't even know she had.
Terror at Bottle Creek
Watt Key - 2016
Cort's father is a local expert on hunting and swamp lore in lower Alabama who has been teaching his son everything he knows. But when a deadly Category 3 storm makes landfall, Cort must unexpectedly put his all skills-and bravery-to the test. One catastrophe seems to lead to another, leaving Cort and two neighbor girls to face the storm as best they can. Amid miles of storm-thrashed wetlands filled with dangerous, desperate wild animals, it's up to Cort to win-or lose-the fight for their lives.
Fierce Bitches
Jedidiah Ayres - 2013
The pit is about to spit something back out.
Satan Is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers
Charlie Louvin - 2012
The Los Angeles Times called them “the most influential harmony team in the history of country music,” but Emmylou Harris may have hit closer to the heart of the matter, saying “there was something scary and washed in the blood about the sound of the Louvin Brothers.” For readers of Johnny Cash’s irresistible autobiography and Merle Haggard’s My House of Memories, no country music library will be complete without this raw and powerful story of the duo that everyone from Dolly Parton to Gram Parsons described as their favorites: the Louvin Brothers.
What My Heart Wants to Tell
Verna Mae Slone - 1979
So He sent us His very strongest men and women." So begins the heartwarming story of Verna Mae and her father, Isom B. "Kitteneye" Slone, an extraordinary personal family history set in the hills around Caney Creek in Knott County, Kentucky.
Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird
Bethany Hegedus - 2018
From the get-go she was a spitfire.Unlike most girls, Nelle preferred overalls to dresses and climbing trees to tea parties. Nelle loved to watch her daddy try cases in the courtroom. And she and her best friend, Tru, devoured books and wrote stories of their own. More than anything, Nelle loved words. This love eventually took her all the way to New York City, where she dreamed of becoming a writer. Any chance she had, Nelle sat at her typewriter, writing, revising, and chasing her dream. Nelle wouldn’t give up—not until she discovered the right story, the one she was born to tell. Finally, that story came to her, and Nelle, inspired by her childhood, penned To Kill a Mockingbird. A groundbreaking book about small-town injustice that sold over forty million copies, Nelle’s novel resonated with readers the world over, who, through reading, learned what it was like to climb into someone else’s skin and walk around in it. From Bethany Hegedus and Erin McGuire comes the inspiring true story of Harper Lee, the scrappy tomboy who grew up to be one of the most beloved writers of the twentieth century.
Okatibbee Creek
Lori Crane - 2012
Okatibbee Creek is based on the true story of Mary Ann Rodgers, who not only survived the war, but with the help of an unexpected champion, emerged a heroic woman with an amazing story.