Troubles in Southern Memoirs

Troubles in Southern Memoirs

This article relates to We Were Brothers

Barry Moser's We Were Brothers presents his troubled relationship with the South. He shares his positive memories of his childhood filled with games and conversation, but what he seems to remember the most, now in his later adulthood, are the times of strife – those moments of conflict and bigotry.

Anyone familiar with the American South's history is surely unsurprised by this duality. The South has genuine friendliness and strong family ties, but it is also haunted by stories of racism, classism, sexism, and violence. These issues are a part of history that are too big to be ignored.

Here are my top five picks of memoirs that depict the American South in its complex and complicated form:



Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin'

Bragg's memoir is set in northeastern Alabama. He tells of his mother's love as she intensely labors in cotton fields to provide for her family. His father, though, is mostly absent, and when he is around, he is accompanied with a bottle of alcohol and a drunken rage. Bragg, with expert precision, illustrates how poverty influences so much of the South. All Over but the Shoutin' is a story about how a little kindness and hard work can assist in overcoming the darkest of situations.



Pat Conroy's The Death of Santini

The Death of Santini captures two sides of the large Conroy family: the love and the hate. Conroy specifically dives into discussing the tumultuous relationship he shares with his father due to long-seeded anger. Instead of only writing about the bitter feuds, he turns to focusing on their reconciliation. Conroy's 2014 memoir is a beautiful display of overcoming past family abuse.



Sally Mann's Hold Still

There are words, but it's the pictures that make Hold Still so remarkable. Mann captures so many parts of her (and the South's) history. She includes crispy photos of racial tension, destruction, poverty, and death. It's doubtful that you'll encounter anything else like it. Mann's black and white memoir is stunning.



Frances Mayes' Under Magnolia

Mayes is probably best known for Under the Tuscan Sun, her book about life in Italy, but Under Magnolia, her memoir about her time spent in Fitzgerald, Georgia, is, in my opinion, her most affecting work. She paints a picture of the South that is purely lovely; there are breezes, swaying trees, and laughter. Mayes is not blind to the problems that surround her, though, especially the ones in her own family. For all the greatness that she remembers, she can't let go of those dark memories that haunt her.



Richard Wright's Black Boy

Black Boy is a defining piece of literature that depicts the many sides of the American South. Set in rural Mississippi, Wright talks about his life as a poor child trying to survive. Black Boy features brutal moments of violence, and it contains equally difficult passages about poverty and hatred. Wright's story of suffering is heartbreaking, but it is essential reading for those who are interested in exploring the South.

Filed under Reading Lists

This article relates to We Were Brothers. It first ran in the November 4, 2015 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.

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