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Coming Home: Life, Love, and All Things Southern
Home to Robert Inman is Elba, Alabama, where he grew up and where his grandmother lived. But his stories--all of them true, he assures us--encompass everything south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Inman writes about Vacation Bible School, a must for Elba's Methodist faithful; southern politicians; the differences between North and South Carolina; small-town radio stations; the joys of Thanksgiving and Christmas; University of Alabama football; the painful process of writing; weddings and marriages; and his "beautiful, warm-hearted, generous, even-tempered, talented, and witty" wife, Paulette. Inman, author of three novels and seven screenplays, devotes a section of the book to his friend Delbert Earle, who wants to ban the month of February with its "dismal drearies": snow and ice, gloom and angst, and public unrest and domestic discontent. And there's much more in this delightful collection of memoirs, down-home storytelling at its best.
- GenresNonfiction
250 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2000
26 people want to read
About the author
Robert Inman
34 books43 followersRobert Inman’s new novel, The Governor’s Lady, is available now from John F. Blair Publishers. Drawing on his a career as a journalist and creative writer, Inman has crafted the story of Cooper Lanier, a determined woman fighting to establish her independence in the tumultuous world of male-dominated politics.
The Governor’s Lady is Inman’s fifth novel, following Home Fires Burning (1987), Old Dogs and Children (1991), Dairy Queen Days (1997), and Captain Saturday (2002), all published originally by Little, Brown and Company, and now available in popular e-book formats. He is also the author of a collection of non-fiction work, Coming Home: Life, Love and All Things Southern, and an illustrated family holiday book, The Christmas Bus.
Inman has written screenplays for six motion pictures for television, two of which have been “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentations. His script for The Summer of Ben Tyler, a Hallmark production, won the Writers’ Guild of America Award as the best original television screenplay of 1997. His other Hallmark feature was Home Fires Burning, a 1989 adaptation of his novel.
Inman’s first stage play, the musical comedy Crossroads, had its world premiere in 2003 at Blowing Rock Stage Company, a professional theatre in Blowing Rock, NC. His playwriting credits also include The Christmas Bus, Dairy Queen Days, Welcome to Mitford, A High Country Christmas Carol, The Christmas Bus: The Musical, and The Drama Club. Inman wrote the book, music and lyrics for Crossroads and The Christmas Bus: The Musical. Inman’s plays are published by Dramatic Publishing Company.
Robert Inman is a native of Elba, Alabama, where he began his writing career in junior high school with his hometown weekly newspaper. He left a 31-year career in television journalism in 1996 to devote full time to fiction writing.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of Alabama with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees. He has been selected as Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, and was inducted into the Alabama Communication Hall of Fame.
He is a member of the Authors Guild, Writers Guild of America, Dramatists Guild, PEN American Center, North Carolina Writers Conference, North Carolina Writers Network, and Alabama Writers Forum.
Inman and his wife, Paulette, live in Conover and Boone, North Carolina. They have two daughters: Larkin Ferris of Breckenridge, CO; and Lee Farabaugh of Atlanta.
Author's web site: www.robert-inman.com.
The Governor’s Lady is Inman’s fifth novel, following Home Fires Burning (1987), Old Dogs and Children (1991), Dairy Queen Days (1997), and Captain Saturday (2002), all published originally by Little, Brown and Company, and now available in popular e-book formats. He is also the author of a collection of non-fiction work, Coming Home: Life, Love and All Things Southern, and an illustrated family holiday book, The Christmas Bus.
Inman has written screenplays for six motion pictures for television, two of which have been “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentations. His script for The Summer of Ben Tyler, a Hallmark production, won the Writers’ Guild of America Award as the best original television screenplay of 1997. His other Hallmark feature was Home Fires Burning, a 1989 adaptation of his novel.
Inman’s first stage play, the musical comedy Crossroads, had its world premiere in 2003 at Blowing Rock Stage Company, a professional theatre in Blowing Rock, NC. His playwriting credits also include The Christmas Bus, Dairy Queen Days, Welcome to Mitford, A High Country Christmas Carol, The Christmas Bus: The Musical, and The Drama Club. Inman wrote the book, music and lyrics for Crossroads and The Christmas Bus: The Musical. Inman’s plays are published by Dramatic Publishing Company.
Robert Inman is a native of Elba, Alabama, where he began his writing career in junior high school with his hometown weekly newspaper. He left a 31-year career in television journalism in 1996 to devote full time to fiction writing.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of Alabama with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees. He has been selected as Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, and was inducted into the Alabama Communication Hall of Fame.
He is a member of the Authors Guild, Writers Guild of America, Dramatists Guild, PEN American Center, North Carolina Writers Conference, North Carolina Writers Network, and Alabama Writers Forum.
Inman and his wife, Paulette, live in Conover and Boone, North Carolina. They have two daughters: Larkin Ferris of Breckenridge, CO; and Lee Farabaugh of Atlanta.
Author's web site: www.robert-inman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 29, 2009
I didn’t realize how local Inman is. He has written for the Charlotte Observer and he lives in the NC mountains. He mentions Charlotte and describes it as a place where no one who lives here is from. So true. This book is really a bunch of short essays. Some are truly insightful. Some I didn’t quite get the purpose or the meaning of. Others, were humorous. Especially the short little diatribes about Delbert Earle. I especially like the one about heavy sleepers and light sleepers in a marriage. It is very true. One thing I admire about this author is he has a gift with words. It’s almost like he plugs into his brain and the words just fall out on the page. I recall thinking, as I read some of this, wow, he is saying exactly what I think. Not many authors can do that. I have ordered one of Inman’s novels off bookmooch. I have read Mr. Saturday and want to try something else. I am even considering getting a copy of this. It has a lot of great things to say
April 25, 2015
I don't usually read non-fiction (except for an occasional memoir) but when my mother found this on the "free" book stack at our local recycling center, I decided to give it a read. After all, I did live in Virginia for more than eight years.
I found that it was a trying read at times -- it was almost as if Inman was forcing rather than encouraging us to relate to his childhood experiences and Southern roots. But there was also something comforting about his writing. I found that comfort in the anecdotes that spoke to universal truths rather than specific people or places, and I wish Inman had included more of those.
Overall, not a bad read, but not a book I'll keep on the shelf, either.
I found that it was a trying read at times -- it was almost as if Inman was forcing rather than encouraging us to relate to his childhood experiences and Southern roots. But there was also something comforting about his writing. I found that comfort in the anecdotes that spoke to universal truths rather than specific people or places, and I wish Inman had included more of those.
Overall, not a bad read, but not a book I'll keep on the shelf, either.
December 7, 2009
Another book for a book club, the book is okay. This is a collection of essays/short stories on life, love and all things Southern. Almost in the style of Will Rogers or Mark Twain, but not as good. A gentle reminder of what is expected of each person in life. I felt that at times the story is too short and the why is missing. I have only read Captain Saturday by Inman, which I enjoyed. This book was too blase.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews