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Conversations with the Conroys: Interviews with Pat Conroy and His Family
A New York Times best-selling author of eleven novels and memoirs, Pat Conroy is one of America's most beloved storytellers and a writer as synonymous with the South Carolina lowcountry as pluff mud or the Palmetto tree. As Conroy's writings have been rooted in autobiography more often than not, his readers have come to know and appreciate much about the once-secret dark familial history that has shaped Conroy's life and work.
Conversations with the Conroys opens further the discussion of the Conroy family through five revealing interviews conducted in 2014–15 with Pat Conroy and four of his six siblings: brothers Mike, Jim, and Tim and sister Kathy. In confessional and often comic dialogs, the Conroys openly discuss the perils of being raised by their larger-than-life parents, USMC fighter pilot Col. Don Conroy (the Great Santini) and southern belle Peggy Conroy (née Peek); the complexities of having their history of abuse made public by Pat's books; the tragic death of their youngest brother, Tom; the chasm between them and their sister Carol Ann; and the healing, redemptive embrace they have come to find over time in one another. With good humor and often-striking candor, these interviews capture the Conroys as authentic and indeed proud South Carolinians, not always at ease with their place in literary lore, but nonetheless deeply supportive of Pat in his life and writing.
Edited and introduced by the Palmetto State's pre-eminent historian, Walter Edgar, Conversations with the Conroys includes the first publications of Pat Conroy's interview with Edgar as the keynote address of the 2014 One Book, One Columbia citywide "big read" program, the unprecedented interview with the Conroy siblings for SCETV Radio's Walter Edgar's Journal, the resulting live Conroy Family Roundtable held at the 2014 South Carolina Book Festival, and a recent interview in Charleston following Pat Conroy's induction into the Citadel's Athletics Hall of Fame. This collection is augmented with an afterword from National Book Award–winning poet Nikky Finney and nearly fifty photographs, many from the Pat Conroy Archive in the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of South Carolina Libraries, and published here for the first time. Through the resulting treasure trove of text and images, this volume is as much a keepsake for Conroy's legion of devoted fans as it is a wealth of insider information to broaden the understanding of readers and researchers alike of the idiosyncratic world of Pat Conroy and his family.
Conversations with the Conroys opens further the discussion of the Conroy family through five revealing interviews conducted in 2014–15 with Pat Conroy and four of his six siblings: brothers Mike, Jim, and Tim and sister Kathy. In confessional and often comic dialogs, the Conroys openly discuss the perils of being raised by their larger-than-life parents, USMC fighter pilot Col. Don Conroy (the Great Santini) and southern belle Peggy Conroy (née Peek); the complexities of having their history of abuse made public by Pat's books; the tragic death of their youngest brother, Tom; the chasm between them and their sister Carol Ann; and the healing, redemptive embrace they have come to find over time in one another. With good humor and often-striking candor, these interviews capture the Conroys as authentic and indeed proud South Carolinians, not always at ease with their place in literary lore, but nonetheless deeply supportive of Pat in his life and writing.
Edited and introduced by the Palmetto State's pre-eminent historian, Walter Edgar, Conversations with the Conroys includes the first publications of Pat Conroy's interview with Edgar as the keynote address of the 2014 One Book, One Columbia citywide "big read" program, the unprecedented interview with the Conroy siblings for SCETV Radio's Walter Edgar's Journal, the resulting live Conroy Family Roundtable held at the 2014 South Carolina Book Festival, and a recent interview in Charleston following Pat Conroy's induction into the Citadel's Athletics Hall of Fame. This collection is augmented with an afterword from National Book Award–winning poet Nikky Finney and nearly fifty photographs, many from the Pat Conroy Archive in the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, University of South Carolina Libraries, and published here for the first time. Through the resulting treasure trove of text and images, this volume is as much a keepsake for Conroy's legion of devoted fans as it is a wealth of insider information to broaden the understanding of readers and researchers alike of the idiosyncratic world of Pat Conroy and his family.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
152 pages, Hardcover
First published October 20, 2015
37 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
Walter Edgar
23 books20 followersDr. Walter B. Edgar was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1943. He received his undergraduate education from Davidson College in 1965 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of South Carolina in 1967 and 1969, respectively. Dr. Edgar served in the U.S. Army from 1969-71, including a year as an advisor in Vietnam. He has been a professor of history at the University of South Carolina since 1972, has served as graduate director of the Department of History, and has directed many graduate students in their studies for the M.A. and the Ph.D. Dr. Edgar was the founder and first director of the Applied History Program (now the Public History Program), offering graduate training in historic preservation, museum studies, and archival theory. He has also been the director of the Institute of Southern Studies since 1990, and has been the Claude Henry Neuffer Professor of Southern Studies since 1995.
Chief among Dr. Edgar’s many publications is his acclaimed South Carolina: A History, the first comprehensive history of the state published in the last fifty years, described as “a bold and sweeping reassessment and the history of South Carolina for this generation.” He is also the editor of several books, such as A Southern Renascence Man: Views of Robert Penn Warren and South Carolina: The WPA Guide to the Palmetto State. Dr. Edgar’s most recent major work was a multi-year project planning, supervising, and editing the South Carolina Encyclopedia, with articles by almost 600 contributors, published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2006. An enthusiastic interpreter of South Carolina and Southern history, culture, and life, he does so in a public forum in his weekly radio series on South Carolina ETV Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and as a frequent speaker to many historical, civic, and other organizations in South Carolina, across the United States, and abroad.
(from SC Hall of Fame: http://www.scetv.org/index.php/sc_hal...)
Chief among Dr. Edgar’s many publications is his acclaimed South Carolina: A History, the first comprehensive history of the state published in the last fifty years, described as “a bold and sweeping reassessment and the history of South Carolina for this generation.” He is also the editor of several books, such as A Southern Renascence Man: Views of Robert Penn Warren and South Carolina: The WPA Guide to the Palmetto State. Dr. Edgar’s most recent major work was a multi-year project planning, supervising, and editing the South Carolina Encyclopedia, with articles by almost 600 contributors, published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2006. An enthusiastic interpreter of South Carolina and Southern history, culture, and life, he does so in a public forum in his weekly radio series on South Carolina ETV Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and as a frequent speaker to many historical, civic, and other organizations in South Carolina, across the United States, and abroad.
(from SC Hall of Fame: http://www.scetv.org/index.php/sc_hal...)
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 23, 2020
This book is not for everyone. First, you must be a Pat Conroy fan. Second, you should have read most or all of his books but most especially "Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini."
This is a short compendium of transcripts of roundtable discussions—most on the radio, one at the South Carolina Book Festival, and one a telephone interview—between Pat Conroy and four of his siblings: Mike Conroy, Jim Conroy, Kathy Conroy Harvey, and Tim Conroy. There is lots of sibling joshing and ribbing, as well as serious revelations about the long-held family secrets of physical abuse by their father, Donald Conroy. Pat broke the family code of silence when he published a kind of tell-all in his novels "The Great Santini" and "The Prince of Tides," both of which were made into movies.
Because the text is just transcripts of the written word, some of it can feel a bit rough and there are several glaring typos. Words said aloud don't always translate to the written word as well. Still, the book reveals much about the heretofore silent siblings and adds much to the backstory of Pat Conroy's best loved books.
This is a must-read for Pat Conroy fans.
(Although we share the same name, Pat Conroy and I are not kin, as they say in South Carolina. Too bad!)
This is a short compendium of transcripts of roundtable discussions—most on the radio, one at the South Carolina Book Festival, and one a telephone interview—between Pat Conroy and four of his siblings: Mike Conroy, Jim Conroy, Kathy Conroy Harvey, and Tim Conroy. There is lots of sibling joshing and ribbing, as well as serious revelations about the long-held family secrets of physical abuse by their father, Donald Conroy. Pat broke the family code of silence when he published a kind of tell-all in his novels "The Great Santini" and "The Prince of Tides," both of which were made into movies.
Because the text is just transcripts of the written word, some of it can feel a bit rough and there are several glaring typos. Words said aloud don't always translate to the written word as well. Still, the book reveals much about the heretofore silent siblings and adds much to the backstory of Pat Conroy's best loved books.
This is a must-read for Pat Conroy fans.
(Although we share the same name, Pat Conroy and I are not kin, as they say in South Carolina. Too bad!)
February 13, 2020
I might have to see if I can track down any copies of the audios of this collection, just to hear Conroy (and his siblings) again. He was so funny to listen to. I wish I had be able to attend some of these events, though at least I did get to hear Conroy speak on the University of South Carolina campus once, as well as got to meet him. Nice collection of photos, too. I still look with anticipation for another book by him, yet knowing it will not be coming. So for now I snatch up these types of books.
October 21, 2022
An Alternative View
I am a year older than Pat. I've read every single book more than once, even tried his recipes.
I see outsized similarities in some of our decision making. I see similarities in our siblings. I unfortunately, see some familiar, awful traits and fears of those traits between our fathers. My mother saved us as little kids, then, as we became adults, showed us that it was her who was the hateful, domineering Prima Donna and narcissist in the family. It was her who ultimately damaged our trust in humankind. It was her who thought money and power, prestige, precious antiques, and being a member of the upper class was more important than family. It is the mother who is the errant protagonist of Pat Conroy's works.
I am a year older than Pat. I've read every single book more than once, even tried his recipes.
I see outsized similarities in some of our decision making. I see similarities in our siblings. I unfortunately, see some familiar, awful traits and fears of those traits between our fathers. My mother saved us as little kids, then, as we became adults, showed us that it was her who was the hateful, domineering Prima Donna and narcissist in the family. It was her who ultimately damaged our trust in humankind. It was her who thought money and power, prestige, precious antiques, and being a member of the upper class was more important than family. It is the mother who is the errant protagonist of Pat Conroy's works.
August 3, 2018
This is for the Pat Conroy diehards who want to know more about his (and his siblings’) tough childhood. What struck me is how much they all use humor to deflect emotional turmoil and how their love for each other continues to save them.
May 10, 2018
I'll take anything Conroy I can get! It was interesting to hear from the siblings. A must for readers of Pat Conroy.
May 27, 2018
I'm a huge Pat Conroy fan, and I'll voraciously read anything I can get my hands on either by him, or about him. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
March 17, 2019
Enjoyable discussions with the Conroy siblings!
September 22, 2019
A delightful little gem for diehard Conroy fans. I would not recommend this unless you have read most or all of Pat Conroy’s other books-especially the “Santini” books.
May 4, 2016
Pat Conroy was my favorite contemporary novelist. I've been bummed by his recent death but found much enjoyment here through a series of interviews of him and his siblings. The story of their family's dysfunction has been become infamous through Conroy's books and the movies based on them. The first movie was "The Great Santini" and it was Robert Duvall's first starring role. However one of the brothers said that Duvall reminded him more of Bambi than their father! The perseverance and humor of this family is remarkable in light of all the abuse they endured growing up.
August 6, 2016
Being a big fan of Pat Conroy's books, I enjoyed reading the interviews that Walter Edgar had with Pat and one of his sisters and three of his brothers. Missing was his one sister, Carol, who was estranged with Pat the last few years of his life, and his brother who passed away several years ago. The Conroy's spoke openly of the difficulty of their childhood and the ways that Pat's work was an accurate depiction of their struggles.
For me this was an interesting read. I will miss Pat Conroy and his unique style.
For me this was an interesting read. I will miss Pat Conroy and his unique style.
November 5, 2015
This book contained several conversations with Pat Conroy and his brothers and sister. I found the interviews very interesting because I've read all of Pat's books several times and his family discussed his books and how close they were to their reality growing up. It was very interesting to compare their memories of growing up to the stories in Pat's books. Despite a very tough upbringing, its very evident that they love each other deeply. Great book for Pat Conroy fans.
March 19, 2016
Transcripts of recent(ish) interviews with Pat Conroy and his siblings (minus Carol, of course). I mean, it's just a record of their conversation, but I've been listening to podcasts all week, old interviews with Pat Conroy on NPR, and I love his voice and his stories and even though this doesn't really give me anything new it is still wonderful.
June 2, 2019
I enjoyed this book following the completion of my fourth Pat Conroy novel Loved hearing about what his role was to his brothers and sisters for his books and what impact his books had on them. Rather rouneded out the story My favorite author. There are a few of his books for me to read. Glory! Glory!
August 8, 2015
I was delighted to win this book through the GoodReads contest which was provided by the University of South Carolina Press!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the interviews. At times I felt that I was in the room with them. It is fun to go back and read some of the quips and stories again and again.
February 6, 2016
If you love Pat Conroy's books and you have read The Great Santini, you will enjoy these interviews with him and his siblings. It's truly amazing what great respect and affection they have for one another.
February 15, 2016
Pat Conroy and his siblings answered questions about their lives as children of a violent father and dysfunctional mother. Pat Conroy is the author of The Water is Wide, Prince of Tides, South of Broad, and other stories set in South Carolinia.
June 19, 2016
This wasn't a "book." It was transcripts of conversations that didn't merit transcripting.
Read
November 30, 2015One of my favorite authors. However, the interviews were not that interesting. No new insights.
December 28, 2015
For fans of Pat Conroy. You will feel like your in the room with Pat Conroy's family (3 brothers, 1 sister). 1 brother committed suicide, 1 sister doesn't stay in touch.
January 7, 2016
Excellent book. If you ever wondered where Pat Conroy got his material for his writing, this is book for you.
February 3, 2016
I read Death of Santini......nothing new in these interviews that was not in the book. A family thst takes a great deal of pride in their dysfunction.
June 27, 2016
Short book of discussions with Pat Conroy and his siblings describing the well known family disfunction..
December 20, 2016
A great and absorbing read. A true tribe of survivors.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews