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Mama Makes Up Her Mind: And Other Dangers of Southern Living
Welcome to the unique world of Bailey White. Her aunt Belle may take you to see the alligator she's taught to bellow on command. Her uncle Jimbuddy may appall you with his knack for losing pieces of himself. Most of all, you may succumb utterly to the charms of Bailey's mama - who may take you to Rosey's, a North Florida juke joint so raunchy it scared Ernest Hemingway, and then tuck you into an antique bed that has the disconcerting habit of folding up on people while they're asleep.
Bailey White's indelible vignettes of Southern eccentricity have entranced the millions who have heard her read them on National Public Radio.
Bailey White's indelible vignettes of Southern eccentricity have entranced the millions who have heard her read them on National Public Radio.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1993
148 people are currently reading
4155 people want to read
About the author
Bailey White
36 books223 followersBailey White was born in 1950 in Thomasville, Ga. She still lives in the same house in which she grew up, on one of the large tracts of virgin longleaf pine woods. Her father, Robb White, was a fiction writer and later a television and movie script writer. Her mother, Rosalie White, was a farmer, and worked for many years as the executive director of the local Red Cross Chapter. She has one brother, who is a carpenter and boat builder, and one sister, who is a bureaucrat. White graduated from Florida State University in 1973, and has taken a break from teaching first grade to pursue writing full-time. She is the author of Sleeping at the Starlite Motel, Mama Makes Up Her Mind, and Quite a Year for Plums.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 432 reviews
February 11, 2010
Whether written (in books such as this) or spoken (in her oral essays on NPR), I love Bailey White's voice. It is honest, original, entertaining and yet carries insight that can be quite biting at times. Better still, it is oh so southern. She is a master storyteller who manages to fit whole stories into the space of a short essay. Aspiring writers should study her opening lines and paragraphs to see how a great writer draws a reader in. How about these for opening sentences? "We should have known things were not going well when Mama found a tick doing isometrics under her panty hose." Or "Something about my mother attracts ornithologists." Or "My mother eats things she finds dead on the road." Or "I remember as a little child watching my aunt Belle's wide rump disappear into the cattails and marsh grass at the edge of a pond as she crawled on her hands and knees to meet a giant alligator face to face." Or, perhaps my favorite, "My Uncle Jimbuddy, the cabinet maker, has been cutting off pieces of his fingers for ten years now." With openings like these, how can a reader not be drawn in to find out what in the world she is talking about and how is she going to make a story of it?
Ms. White's stories are so evocative that, by the time you finish reading this slim volume, you feel you're a member of her family, whether you want to be or not, not unlike Kevin, the yankee nephew of Ms. White's aunt Eleanor -- the young man aunt Eleanor wants Ms. White to marry despite the fact that "Kevin has to lie down with with a cold rag on his head after an hour in my company, and . . .I can't seem to breathe normally when I am in the same room with Kevin, and have to go out on the porch and gulp air every ten minutes. . ." You know the dirty laundry, you know the eccentricities, and you know the hurts that are long past but not forgotten, and yet, through all of it you never lose sight of the irony and humor of it all. Moreover, you come to realize that dirty laundry, eccentricities and old hurts are very real parts of all our lives and deserve to be honored and celebrated every bit as much as the things we more typically choose to focus our attentions on.
In short, Ms. White's writing not only entertains, it also informs and uplifts, and I for one am eagerly looking forward to the next time I have the good fortune to pick up one of her books.
Ms. White's stories are so evocative that, by the time you finish reading this slim volume, you feel you're a member of her family, whether you want to be or not, not unlike Kevin, the yankee nephew of Ms. White's aunt Eleanor -- the young man aunt Eleanor wants Ms. White to marry despite the fact that "Kevin has to lie down with with a cold rag on his head after an hour in my company, and . . .I can't seem to breathe normally when I am in the same room with Kevin, and have to go out on the porch and gulp air every ten minutes. . ." You know the dirty laundry, you know the eccentricities, and you know the hurts that are long past but not forgotten, and yet, through all of it you never lose sight of the irony and humor of it all. Moreover, you come to realize that dirty laundry, eccentricities and old hurts are very real parts of all our lives and deserve to be honored and celebrated every bit as much as the things we more typically choose to focus our attentions on.
In short, Ms. White's writing not only entertains, it also informs and uplifts, and I for one am eagerly looking forward to the next time I have the good fortune to pick up one of her books.
August 14, 2011
The jacket of this book mentions that Bailey White is a former first grade teacher. I was very lucky to be in her class the last year she taught. My mother was worried about the class because her room had no decorations in it, which made my mother assume she was not very creative. Within a week or two, my mother visited the room again to find it was filled with many different art projects that Miss White had led her students in making.
Like my first grade classroom, this collection of stories (and the author herself) is simple. But even the simplest things can be wonderful. I have read and re-read my autographed copy of this book several times, and it never ceases to make me chuckle. Her descriptions of people (real people, mind you, not fictional characters) are quirky yet believable.
Like the time she brought a dead snake to our class to show us how snakes shed their skin, in her writing Bailey White has a way of exposing the wonderful hidden behind everyday things.
Like my first grade classroom, this collection of stories (and the author herself) is simple. But even the simplest things can be wonderful. I have read and re-read my autographed copy of this book several times, and it never ceases to make me chuckle. Her descriptions of people (real people, mind you, not fictional characters) are quirky yet believable.
Like the time she brought a dead snake to our class to show us how snakes shed their skin, in her writing Bailey White has a way of exposing the wonderful hidden behind everyday things.
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January 18, 2015This is relentlessly cute. I mean it's lovely, really. Funny and sweet and weird and in complete contrast to The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America which I was reading concurrently. How can these two works come from even vaguely the same place? At the very least the same nation. Bailey - how can you possibly be called Bailey? What sort of a name is that for fuck's sake, was she named after a sickly cream and whisky liqueur? (wouldn't be entirely inappropriate if she were) -anyway Bailey White has a wonderful swing and lilt to her stories, is true, and appeal in bucketloads, and is an elementary school teacher so how could you possibly be snarky Karen, but where is this safe world that she portrays where people still have a sense of community and neighbourliness and her mother is prepared to spend weeks teaching the local redneck to cook? And even the snakes are friendly creatures who nest in your Christmas decorations and deal with the mice more conveniently than cats who just drop hair everywhere? Surreal. Hard to place in time, when are we? The fifties? I have no idea, I just lapped it all up and loved it. Very very funny.
August 18, 2007
I had forgotten about this one until Sheryl put it up on her "to-read" shelf. I'm going to have to pull it down and read it again. It was passed along to me by a good friend with whom I share a very Southern sense of humor, and so was a huge hit.
It's no secret that I adore Southern fiction and non-fiction, and prefer it to any other genre of literature. This charming little book is a prime example of the appeal for me. While this book is not "great literature" by any means, it's very real. Here's the thing: It's not that we have *more* crazy people and eccentric behavior down here than is present in the rest of the country...it's that we EMBRACE it. We love our crazy people, and write lovingly about eccentricities. I know people from "up North" who read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and swore it could not POSSIBLY be a "true story," whereas every Southerner I know who read that book was all, "What's the big deal?"
I don't know whether it's classified as fiction or non-fiction, but I do know that I wouldn't have to venture more than a mile from my own house to find a place like Mama's.
It's no secret that I adore Southern fiction and non-fiction, and prefer it to any other genre of literature. This charming little book is a prime example of the appeal for me. While this book is not "great literature" by any means, it's very real. Here's the thing: It's not that we have *more* crazy people and eccentric behavior down here than is present in the rest of the country...it's that we EMBRACE it. We love our crazy people, and write lovingly about eccentricities. I know people from "up North" who read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and swore it could not POSSIBLY be a "true story," whereas every Southerner I know who read that book was all, "What's the big deal?"
I don't know whether it's classified as fiction or non-fiction, but I do know that I wouldn't have to venture more than a mile from my own house to find a place like Mama's.
December 4, 2009
You should see my copy of this book. One of my co-workers, who, for various reasons, has only recently seen how much I read, saw all the neon post-it flags sticking out of the side of my book and asked me what on earth I was doing. I blushed and tried to explain how the people in Bailey White's humorous little reflection on life in the South kept reminding me of people I know, so I was just marking the pages. She said that she'd never heard of anyone doing that, looked at me like I was weird, and moved on.
But it's true. "Mama" in particular kept reminding me of different people. I can see all the family members reading this and bracing themselves, but none of you put in an appearance, I promise! Well, Luis does, but he's been warned. Mostly they were little descriptions, but they were so spot-on that they just tickled me. There's this one that reminds me of my grandfather: "When Mama starts to move across a room, people pay attention. You can never be sure she's not going to grab you by the top of the head to steady herself. And she's pretty free with that walking stick too." Her description of the house that she shares with Mama could have been a description of my grandmother's house. I even recognized myself, but I can't tell you where, because it's the punchline to one of the stories. Here's my favorite, reminding me of my husband. After Bailey covers herself from head to toe to brave some repairs among the spiders under the house, she says, "It was no mean trick doing the wiring with those mittens on. But I managed it and crawled out, batting spiders into the shadows. I could hear a thud as they hit the floor joists, then a scuttling sound, then, worst of all, the silence of spiders." I wish you all could see the picture of my husband that this brings to mind. We were picking blackberries in a huge wild, thorny patch of them when he found a gigantic spider. Obviously, he's not a fan, but to be fair, he lived in Colombia when he was young. If I'd had to deal with those mega-spiders, I would probably have arachnophobia too. Anyway, there's a gigantic spider next to a nice juicy patch he found. He yells at me to look over, and I look. From about 50 feet away, I could actually see it. I don't know what kind of spider it was, because we don't grow them that big around here. But Luis decided to brave the spider for the blackberries and he manned up, keeping an eye on The Enemy. And then it was gone. I heard a cry of "I can't find it!" I looked up, and he was high-stepping it out of that patch as fast as he could go! I am not lying about the high-stepping. Those skinny white knees were clearing the tops of the thorns! I laughed till I cried! So, anyway, he understands about the silence of spiders. And the absence of spiders.
These were mostly just short, two or three page vignettes telling an amusing story about Bailey and her eccentric family. But there were a few stories that just told about a poignant memory she has, such as the time she came eye-to-eye with a bald eagle. I loved them all, funny and touching. Well, almost all of them. There were three stories about snakes and I had the willies by the time I finished the last one! Anyway, I do recommend this for anyone looking for a good laugh. I don't think the appeal will only be to Southerners. We're all just people, after all.
But it's true. "Mama" in particular kept reminding me of different people. I can see all the family members reading this and bracing themselves, but none of you put in an appearance, I promise! Well, Luis does, but he's been warned. Mostly they were little descriptions, but they were so spot-on that they just tickled me. There's this one that reminds me of my grandfather: "When Mama starts to move across a room, people pay attention. You can never be sure she's not going to grab you by the top of the head to steady herself. And she's pretty free with that walking stick too." Her description of the house that she shares with Mama could have been a description of my grandmother's house. I even recognized myself, but I can't tell you where, because it's the punchline to one of the stories. Here's my favorite, reminding me of my husband. After Bailey covers herself from head to toe to brave some repairs among the spiders under the house, she says, "It was no mean trick doing the wiring with those mittens on. But I managed it and crawled out, batting spiders into the shadows. I could hear a thud as they hit the floor joists, then a scuttling sound, then, worst of all, the silence of spiders." I wish you all could see the picture of my husband that this brings to mind. We were picking blackberries in a huge wild, thorny patch of them when he found a gigantic spider. Obviously, he's not a fan, but to be fair, he lived in Colombia when he was young. If I'd had to deal with those mega-spiders, I would probably have arachnophobia too. Anyway, there's a gigantic spider next to a nice juicy patch he found. He yells at me to look over, and I look. From about 50 feet away, I could actually see it. I don't know what kind of spider it was, because we don't grow them that big around here. But Luis decided to brave the spider for the blackberries and he manned up, keeping an eye on The Enemy. And then it was gone. I heard a cry of "I can't find it!" I looked up, and he was high-stepping it out of that patch as fast as he could go! I am not lying about the high-stepping. Those skinny white knees were clearing the tops of the thorns! I laughed till I cried! So, anyway, he understands about the silence of spiders. And the absence of spiders.
These were mostly just short, two or three page vignettes telling an amusing story about Bailey and her eccentric family. But there were a few stories that just told about a poignant memory she has, such as the time she came eye-to-eye with a bald eagle. I loved them all, funny and touching. Well, almost all of them. There were three stories about snakes and I had the willies by the time I finished the last one! Anyway, I do recommend this for anyone looking for a good laugh. I don't think the appeal will only be to Southerners. We're all just people, after all.
September 14, 2009
3 1/2 stars
Fun little 2-6 page pieces about her life in Georgia. Great book to have around for nights of insomnia when you need something light and not too taxing. Most of the funniest pieces are the ones about her mom, early in the book. "Porsche" and "Birth of the Blues" made me laugh out loud. "An Interesting Life" gave me chills. What an experience to look back on! "Mortality," about her old car, cracked me up. All of the stories were enjoyable, and full of colorful individuals who might make you long for the days when people and lifestyles weren't so uniform.
By far the most hilarious piece in the book is "Something Like a Husband" (page 31). I laughed so hard I started choking and coughing. I re-read it after finishing the book and laughed even harder the second time.
"Just tell me one thing: is it an emu?" O...M...G!!!
If you run across this book anywhere, at least read this one story. And remember to hear everything said in a strong Georgia accent.
Fun little 2-6 page pieces about her life in Georgia. Great book to have around for nights of insomnia when you need something light and not too taxing. Most of the funniest pieces are the ones about her mom, early in the book. "Porsche" and "Birth of the Blues" made me laugh out loud. "An Interesting Life" gave me chills. What an experience to look back on! "Mortality," about her old car, cracked me up. All of the stories were enjoyable, and full of colorful individuals who might make you long for the days when people and lifestyles weren't so uniform.
By far the most hilarious piece in the book is "Something Like a Husband" (page 31). I laughed so hard I started choking and coughing. I re-read it after finishing the book and laughed even harder the second time.
"Just tell me one thing: is it an emu?" O...M...G!!!
If you run across this book anywhere, at least read this one story. And remember to hear everything said in a strong Georgia accent.
January 26, 2011
As a general rule, collections of short stories drive me nuts. This was a book full of 2-3 page vignettes that had no connection to each other besides the fact that the author's mother was in each story and each story happened in the South. It was a bunch of anecdotes told in the way a mother would tell stories of her childhood to her children - which would have been fine if there was a logical flow, or the stories built on each other, but they didn't. I could tell within twenty pages that this book was going to make me crazy, so I stopped reading it.
January 27, 2024
I think I read Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Other Dangers of Southern Living, but it was so many years ago that I read it on cassette tape. If I read it all. The only thing I remembered was how much Bailey White’s bohemian mother loved Midnight Cowboy. And maybe I just heard that on National Public Radio.
It doesn’t matter because I have loved Bailey White since the 1990s, and I love her still. This collection of stories about her mother, her long-suffering sister Louise, and the oddball residents of White’s Thomasville, Ga., proved utterly enchanting: stories of hurricanes, disheveled housekeeping, a Native American museum, buying cars, train travel and more. Humorous and insightful, this is book to read and re-read. Highly recommended.
It doesn’t matter because I have loved Bailey White since the 1990s, and I love her still. This collection of stories about her mother, her long-suffering sister Louise, and the oddball residents of White’s Thomasville, Ga., proved utterly enchanting: stories of hurricanes, disheveled housekeeping, a Native American museum, buying cars, train travel and more. Humorous and insightful, this is book to read and re-read. Highly recommended.
March 30, 2018
What an absolute gem. These short story memoirs were my light bedtime reading and I enjoyed my retreat thoroughly. My absolute favorites were the Gardening, Fireman for Life, and the final Finding Myself. Such great stories.
March 22, 2024
Oh, Miss Bailey White!
I want to be your friend, your neighbor, heck I'd marry you if you'd have me. I just want to be near you and live the high life with you down there in Georgia.
I wouldn't mind if I had to sleep in the old folding bed that creaks in the middle of the night and folds itself back up, with the sleeper in it. I wouldn't mind eating Cathead Island oysters even though I detest seafood --but would you'd be so kind as to check them over first to make sure I don't gulp down anything not an oyster please?
I would love if Aunt Belle would let me tag along with y'all on her "junkets," like over to The Devil's Hoofprints where "dirt will not fill these strange depressions, and chickens will not eat out of them." How mysterious!
Do you think your mama would mind if I sat in the kitchen reading her stack of old Natural History magazines she has tottering there? I would willingly sign an injury waiver first.
Oh yes, yes of course I don't mind living with your mother too. In fact, I would be delighted.
I want to be your friend, your neighbor, heck I'd marry you if you'd have me. I just want to be near you and live the high life with you down there in Georgia.
I wouldn't mind if I had to sleep in the old folding bed that creaks in the middle of the night and folds itself back up, with the sleeper in it. I wouldn't mind eating Cathead Island oysters even though I detest seafood --but would you'd be so kind as to check them over first to make sure I don't gulp down anything not an oyster please?
I would love if Aunt Belle would let me tag along with y'all on her "junkets," like over to The Devil's Hoofprints where "dirt will not fill these strange depressions, and chickens will not eat out of them." How mysterious!
Do you think your mama would mind if I sat in the kitchen reading her stack of old Natural History magazines she has tottering there? I would willingly sign an injury waiver first.
Oh yes, yes of course I don't mind living with your mother too. In fact, I would be delighted.
February 20, 2010
This is a great book and is best read aloud with a friend. Anyone who has ever had a kooky elderly relative, (don't we all?)lived in the South, or just wants to have a heart warming laugh will love this book.
My daughter and I have read "the Mama book" as we fondly call it to each other several times. We laugh at Mama's antics every time as if we had never heard the stories contained within this charming book. We sometimes form an "o" with our thumbs and index fingers to peek at each other through in memory of the spyglass story.
I sometimes wonder if one day when I am older (and grow goofier and more cantankerous) if my daughter will be reminded of the book and think that I am just like Lila! I think my daughter wonders the same thing, although I seriously doubt anyone will catch me sitting stock still in the bath tub on the front porch as a team of cyclists whiz by! But who knows? Poor Lila probably would have said the same thing, and look what happened to her.
This book may be hard to find, but it is definitely well worth the hunt. Until you can find a copy to own, and read (over and over again, as I know you will) Check with your library to see if they have a copy. You'll be glad you did!
My daughter and I have read "the Mama book" as we fondly call it to each other several times. We laugh at Mama's antics every time as if we had never heard the stories contained within this charming book. We sometimes form an "o" with our thumbs and index fingers to peek at each other through in memory of the spyglass story.
I sometimes wonder if one day when I am older (and grow goofier and more cantankerous) if my daughter will be reminded of the book and think that I am just like Lila! I think my daughter wonders the same thing, although I seriously doubt anyone will catch me sitting stock still in the bath tub on the front porch as a team of cyclists whiz by! But who knows? Poor Lila probably would have said the same thing, and look what happened to her.
This book may be hard to find, but it is definitely well worth the hunt. Until you can find a copy to own, and read (over and over again, as I know you will) Check with your library to see if they have a copy. You'll be glad you did!
May 6, 2009
Bailey White is a southern treasure. I first heard her on NPR, when she used to read her essays during "Morning Edition". With her raspy voice, I thought she was about 90. Then one day I heard she was doing a book signing here in town. I raced to see her (nearly got a ticket on the way- the only reason I didn't was that the nice police officer liked Bailey White too and could understand my hurry.) Got there and there is Bailey White, closer in age to me than to my grandmother ( or to my mother for that matter). She was great. She even didn't mind that I'd forgotten my book and didn't have enough cash to buy another (the police ifficer bought two copies, so maybe she thought we were together.)
Bailey White's world is wonderfully eccentric, gloriously southern and wickedly funny. Her garden is a world I'd love to ramble through some day. Her mother's cooking, I'll pass up, though. It's been years since I read the book, and I still can't pass road kill without remembering the rule Bailey made her mother promise to follow: No cooking and serving road kill unless you know the make of the car that hit it and the license plat number. (Or maybe that was from Sleeping at the Starlight Motel- the second collection of essays- can't remember- sorry!)
Bailey White's world is wonderfully eccentric, gloriously southern and wickedly funny. Her garden is a world I'd love to ramble through some day. Her mother's cooking, I'll pass up, though. It's been years since I read the book, and I still can't pass road kill without remembering the rule Bailey made her mother promise to follow: No cooking and serving road kill unless you know the make of the car that hit it and the license plat number. (Or maybe that was from Sleeping at the Starlight Motel- the second collection of essays- can't remember- sorry!)
August 7, 2016
This might be OK as an audio book if you just want to hear a voice other than the DJ's on a long lonely drive, but as a book-book it was terribly boring. It's a random collection of short vignettes that are neither interesting nor funny. I couldn't finish it and I don't give up on books that often.
April 23, 2010
Comparing this author to Fannie Flagg is a discredit to the fantastic works of Flagg. Bailey White has a lot of potential to become a great author, but she hasn't reached it yet. I do not understand the great heaps of praise that this book has received. The characters are flat and unexplored beyond the tiny little stories they are featured in, and the stories have no connection between them other than that they were all experienced by the same person, and that Mama is involved someway in almost all of them, until she suddenly disappears and the stories are about her teaching 1st grade. The stories didn't draw me in or make me feel like I was there experiencing these stories with the narrator, which is a mark of a great book in my opinion, whether non-fiction or fiction. There is no climax, even within the stories themselves, and no character or story development, or connection. It was written the way a person would tell stories of their life to someone in the same room with them, which does not translate well into book form. The synopsis on the back (the reason I picked up the book) was better written than the book itself. It's not a total train wreck, which is why I gave it 2 stars, but it certainly could be improved. If there are any other books by Ms. White, I really hope that her form has improved and that she has truly earned the accolades she received.
February 27, 2009
Funny, sweet, charming vignettes of an unusual lifestyle. The author is a 1st grade teacher and I wonder if she isn't a bit like Miss Frizzle of The Magic School Bus. She takes alligators in stride and her mother can sleep outside calmly during a hurricane. It was worth reading.
April 2, 2013
"Patchwork Crazy Quilt of Southern Hospitality"
Mama deserves her own sitcom! Her eccentric no-nonsense brand of maternal philosophy, how she handles neighbors and man-handles strangers provide riotous reading—no matter what corner of the country you hail from. The cover of the Vintage Books 1994 edition offers a broad hint into the zany nostalgia inside: a red Porsche and a claw foot bathtub share front porch honors at Mama’s homestead, shameless mementoes of Mama’s past, permanently ensconced for all the world to notice. Between charming alligators and politicians, mama continually astonishes her two daughters with her jackhammer logic and unflappable humor.
Undaunted Mama tackles a wide variety of Southern wildlife: turkeys, swans, rattlesnakes, buzzards—not to mention Taming a gator. Truly a Mother to be Reckoned with, who never minces words, and is rarely outmaneuvered. The latter half of this collection of uproarious anecdotes centers more on the author’s career as a first grade teacher. Ah the joy of training little, innocent minds along the path to maturity--even if this creative daughter has failed to civilized her southern Mama. White’s engaging style usually provides a concluding sentence with a humorous punch line. My favorite tale of Southern Hospitality: The Bed. This mechanical monstrosity is guaranteed to encourage unwelcome houseguests to depart in a hurry. Ya’ll come back soon now--hear?
Aug. 3, 2010
Mama deserves her own sitcom! Her eccentric no-nonsense brand of maternal philosophy, how she handles neighbors and man-handles strangers provide riotous reading—no matter what corner of the country you hail from. The cover of the Vintage Books 1994 edition offers a broad hint into the zany nostalgia inside: a red Porsche and a claw foot bathtub share front porch honors at Mama’s homestead, shameless mementoes of Mama’s past, permanently ensconced for all the world to notice. Between charming alligators and politicians, mama continually astonishes her two daughters with her jackhammer logic and unflappable humor.
Undaunted Mama tackles a wide variety of Southern wildlife: turkeys, swans, rattlesnakes, buzzards—not to mention Taming a gator. Truly a Mother to be Reckoned with, who never minces words, and is rarely outmaneuvered. The latter half of this collection of uproarious anecdotes centers more on the author’s career as a first grade teacher. Ah the joy of training little, innocent minds along the path to maturity--even if this creative daughter has failed to civilized her southern Mama. White’s engaging style usually provides a concluding sentence with a humorous punch line. My favorite tale of Southern Hospitality: The Bed. This mechanical monstrosity is guaranteed to encourage unwelcome houseguests to depart in a hurry. Ya’ll come back soon now--hear?
Aug. 3, 2010
September 14, 2011
This was a funny book full of stories about the author's family; mostly her eccentric mother. She talked about the small town she lived in and the characters you might come across. These were stories that warmed my heart, because the people reminded me of people I know. At the very end of the book, she talked about being a first grade teacher and some funny happenings. One was where she brought in a snake for her reptile lesson, because the school district could not afford to send the class to a reptile show. She discusses how the students learned so much more from their encountered with this snake than they ever would have at the show. Maybe, the budget cuts weren't so bad when you considered how much the students had learned.
November 20, 2014
I am a fan of southern writers, especially ones that write about life in the south. That being said, this one fell flat for me. The writing style, a short, unrelated story in every 3-4 page chapter, is not my favorite style. There was nothing that held the book together for me, I just wasn't entertained enough to keep reading. I did finish, as this is a book club selection, but I didn't really enjoy the book. Some of the stories were mildly amusing but that's the best I can say. I felt like the author was trying too hard to make you think her "people" were just the most unconventional and wacky around, I just wasn't buying it.
August 13, 2008
7/21/08.. I started reading this the other day... not exactly what I had expected from a memoir. It's basically a series of short (SHORT!) stories.. maybe 2 or 3 pages each. It's pretty much mindless chatter that is only bits and pieces of her life. I think if she had written it in the true sense of a "memoir" it would be very fascinating.
8/12/08... I just can't finish this book. I hate to get half way through a book and put it down, but I can't waste another minute on this book. Very disappointing, since it's gotten so many great reviews! Oh well.
8/12/08... I just can't finish this book. I hate to get half way through a book and put it down, but I can't waste another minute on this book. Very disappointing, since it's gotten so many great reviews! Oh well.
August 3, 2009
OMG! A friend of mine gave this book to me and said that the 'Mama' in the book reminded her of my mother so I should read it. I read it, then gave it to my mother to read without telling her what my friend had said. My mother read it, called me up and said, "That Bailey White, she reminds me of YOU!" Lordy, it was like looking in the mirror! Bailey White is a delight. I later got the audio version and it is even better to listen to the author's raspy southern accent. Read it!
February 26, 2012
I first became aware of Bailey White when I heard her reading brief stories on NPR. She was irresistible - reciting droll tales about simple but fascinating episodes in her life, delivered in a charming Southern accent. This book is a collection of such stories, many revolving around her wonderful mama - a stubborn, eccentric, botanically brilliant, and unforgettable character. Very highly recommended. (I don't know how she does it, but I swear she writes with a Southern accent as well).
August 14, 2018
Bailey White takes a wide open view of her relatively quiet existence. But she certainly makes a lot seem to happen when it doesn’t seem like anything is happening. Kind of like my life. I want her with me when I go to buy a car. Or visit an antiquarian bookstore.
July 16, 2014
I love listening to White on the radio. Imagine my shock to discover she's about fifty years younger than she sounds. Just as funny in print.
September 24, 2024
This was a jewel of a book. It was a funny and charming book made of many stories of southern life, all a bit far fetched. I recommend the read.
January 17, 2021
This is a delightfully entertaining book (and national bestseller by Bailey White) about life in the Deep South. Each short chapter is a different story, written as Bailey’s memoirs, which makes it very easy to pick up and put down based on how your day is going. You can read a few stories in a few pages, or sit and be engrossed for hours.
One of my best friends from Florida State University loved this book, and gave her copy to me last summer. I started it then, and promptly finished it seven months later.
Bailey’s home is in Southern Georgia, and because I lived for six years in Tallahassee, Florida, I recognized the accents and attitudes of the characters in this book. The stories are more like tall tales - often funny, sometimes odd, and can leave you wondering just how much is exaggerated.
If you can read for the ride of it, without analyzing why the characters do what they do, then this book will allow you to escape from all of today’s worries, and give you something to laugh about. I recommend it, and hope you enjoy it as I did.
One of my best friends from Florida State University loved this book, and gave her copy to me last summer. I started it then, and promptly finished it seven months later.
Bailey’s home is in Southern Georgia, and because I lived for six years in Tallahassee, Florida, I recognized the accents and attitudes of the characters in this book. The stories are more like tall tales - often funny, sometimes odd, and can leave you wondering just how much is exaggerated.
If you can read for the ride of it, without analyzing why the characters do what they do, then this book will allow you to escape from all of today’s worries, and give you something to laugh about. I recommend it, and hope you enjoy it as I did.
May 8, 2023
Is this fiction, non-fiction, or a little bit of both? I honestly don't know. Full of southern humor and stories of people like the ones I know and love. It's not the best thing I've ever read, and I wouldn't classify it as great literature, but it was relatable in the best of ways. A very quick and quirky read.
February 11, 2022
Since I am a fan of novels by Garrison Keillor, Tom Bodett, and Fannie Flagg, I thought I would enjoy this novel much more than I did. I love reading Southern fiction as well. However, as one other reviewer wrote, this collection of stories fell flat for me. She definitely does not have the same gift for writing that the above mentioned writers do. Perhaps if I had heard her on NPR, I would have a higher opinion.
Although there is often exaggeration in books intended for humor, I found there was just too much of it in White's writings to the point of not being amusing for me. I could not immerse myself in the stories.
Although there is often exaggeration in books intended for humor, I found there was just too much of it in White's writings to the point of not being amusing for me. I could not immerse myself in the stories.
September 10, 2017
A quite enjoyable collection of short stories. One of my good friends recommended Ms. White's books and I chuckled my way through these stories about life!
December 18, 2019
I’ve read this book so many times that the spine is cracked and the dust jacket is in tatters. It was even “borrowed” (stolen) once and still found its way back home. I love it so much.
November 2, 2025
One of my favorite books of all time. I don't re-read many books, but this is one of my exceptions.
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