Southern Discomfort: A Memoir

Southern Discomfort: A Memoir

For readers of beloved memoirs like Educated and The Glass Castle, a riveting and profoundly moving memoir set in rural Mississippi during the Civil Rights era about a white girl coming of age in a repressive society and the woman who gave her the strength to forge her own pathâ€”the black nanny who cared for her.

Tena Clark was born in 1953 in a tiny Mississippi town close to the Alabama border, where the legacy of slavery and racial injustice still permeated every aspect of life. On the outside, Tenaâ€™s childhood looked like a fairytale. Her father was one of the richest men in the state; her mother was a regal beauty. The family lived on a sprawling farm and had the only swimming pool in town; Tena was given her first carâ€”a royal blue Camaroâ€”at twelve.

But behind closed doors, Tenaâ€™s life was deeply lonely, and chaotic. By the time she was three, her parentsâ€™ marriage had dissolved into a swamp of alcohol, rampant infidelity, and guns. Adding to the turmoil, Tena understood from a very young age that she was different from her three older sisters, all of whom had been beauty queens and majorettes. Tena knew she didnâ€™t want to be a majoretteâ€”she wanted to marry one.

On Tenaâ€™s tenth birthday, her mother, emboldened by alcoholism and enraged by her husbandâ€™s incessant cheating, walked out for good, instantly becoming an outcast in society. Tena was left in the care of her black nanny, Virgie, who became Tenaâ€™s surrogate mother and confidanteâ€”even though she was raising nine of her own children and was not allowed to eat from the familyâ€™s plates or use their bathroom. It was Virgieâ€™s acceptance and unconditional love that gave Tena the courage to stand up to her domineering father, the faith to believe in her motherâ€™s love, and the strength to be her true self.

Combining the spirit of poignant coming-of-age memoirs such as The Glass Castle and vivid, evocative Southern fiction like Fried Green Tomatoes, Southern Discomfort is about the people and places that shape who we areâ€”and is destined to become a new classic.
Country USA
Brand Atria Books
Manufacturer Atria Books
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 51147968
ReleaseDate 2018-10-02
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781501167942

Country	USA
Brand	Atria Books
Manufacturer	Atria Books
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	51147968
ReleaseDate	2018-10-02
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781501167942

Southern Discomfort: A Memoir

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