The Saddest Girl on the Beach (Blair 2024) begins on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on a “dimly bruised January day.” What a perfect description for a wintery day near the beach; you can just imagine the gray-green water, swirling gray clouds with the sun trying to peek through, the chilling damp. Grab your […]
Read of the Month: “Lunchladies Bought My Prom Dress” by Heather Ream
July 30, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Heather Ream’s debut publication, Lunchladies Bought My Prom Dress, is an unflinching account of her childhood and teenage years in Knoxville, TN. She manages to take some of her often tragic circumstances about growing up in poverty and make them flat out hilarious. Photographs, interspersed throughout the memoir, give the reader a clear visual insight […]
“To Crown with Liberty” by Karen Ullo
July 29, 2024 by Leave a Comment
To Crown with Liberty (Chrism Press 2024), by Karen Ullo, takes readers into a whirling journey of intrigue, love, and loss intertwined with the events stemming from the effects of the French Revolution. Throughout this captivating tale, Alix de Morainville, a former lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoniette, seeks to flee the Reign of Terror but finds […]
“Outliving the White Lie: A Southerner’s Historical, Genealogical, and Personal Journey” by James Wiggins
July 16, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Outliving the White Lie: A Southerner’s Historical, Genealogical, and Personal Journey (UMiss Press 2024) by James Wiggins is a blend of public, family, and deeply personal history. The result is an important book that examines racism and slavery through a unique lens. As a descendant of Southerners who fought for the Confederacy, Wiggins shares his […]
“Mirrors: and Other Reflections” by David Armand
July 15, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Mirrors: and Other Reflections (Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette 2023) is a collection of essays most of which were published elsewhere before inclusion is this “memoir in pieces” title. In a brief opening narrative, the author says that these are interconnecting essays provided mostly in chronological order. This is easy reading, and the writer, despite […]
“Liberty Street” by Jason K. Friedman
July 14, 2024 by Leave a Comment
In Liberty Street: A Savannah Family, Its Golden Boy, and the Civil War (U of SC Press 2024), Jason K. Friedman takes an unusual approach to combine the personal story of how he researched this book with the history of a Savannah family and Civil War battles. When Friedman purchases a home in Savannah’s historic […]