Few would deny that Hanson is an exceptional wordsmith. The prose in her memoir, The End of Tennessee (U of SC Press), regularly slips into the poetic as she details her tragic coming-of-age that resulted in estrangement from both of her parents and even her siblings.
That Hanson was dealt a poor hand early in her life is evident. Both of her parents are depicted as individuals with internal compasses running amok, reaching this way and that to find meaning, secure purpose, and establish roots, but the end results are neglected children, extreme financial distress, at least one extramarital affair, and unfairly burdening the oldest daughter, Hanson, with taking care of her younger siblings. Add to this her parents’ unmoored take on and expression of Christianity, and the outcome is an undeniable disaster, prompting Hanson to, first, attempt the unthinkable and then, second, to run away from home in a fit of desperation after working up the courage to say goodbye to the only ones with whom she sincerely shared a loving bond, her, as she sometimes calls them, “babies.”
Hanson eventually finds a toehold in this world and begins to scale the ladder in academia, but, in the latter half of the memoir, as she processes the events in her life that prompted her to make a clean break with her family, it is difficult not to notice how her hatred and anger amplifies. To be sure, the number of so-called f-bombs increases, suggesting that, while she “ended Tennessee,” physically, Hanson very much carries Tennessee with her emotionally and, arguably, spiritually.
Yes, Hanson makes it abundantly clear that she is an atheist. From a former neighbor from her childhood – a preacher – who abused his wife so much that she attempted suicide, to her refusal to join the Orthodox Church with her family, the writing is on the wall with regards to where she would eventually land in a religious or, in her case, anti-religious sense. It seems likely that Hanson is making a damning statement on the basic unit of society throughout the ages – family – and that the real resentment, beyond her mother, beyond her father, is vertically directed.
Ultimately, The End of Tennessee is emblematic of one strain in Western society that prefers deconstruction to construction. The memoir reveals much in the way of why there is this strain. While Hanson, perhaps on purpose, does not entertain any possible silver linings outside of her own liberation, readers may nevertheless come away with their own path forward, and this, arguably, is the memoir’s best attribute.
Rachel M. Hanson
Rachel M. Hanson’s writing can be found in Creative Nonfiction, The Iowa Review, North American Review, Best New Poets, and Joyland Magazine, among others. She was a Grand Canyon river runner for many years, and founded and directs Punch Bucket Lit, a literary nonprofit. She divides her time between New Jersey and North Carolina.
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