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My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the celebrated bestselling author of All Over but the Shoutin' and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Rick Bragg, comes a poignant and wryly funny collection of essays on life in the south. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, he explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies, including his native Alabama, Cajun country, and the Gulf Coast. Everything is explored, from regional obsessions from college football and fishing, to mayonnaise and spoonbread, to the simple beauty of a fish on the hook. Collected from over a decade of his writing, with many never-before-published essays written specifically for this edition, My Southern Journey is an entertaining and engaging read, especially for Southerners (or feel Southern at heart) and anyone who appreciates great writing.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2015
602 people are currently reading
4998 people want to read
About the author
Rick Bragg
47 books1,277 followersRick Bragg is the Pulitzer Prize winning writer of best-selling and critically acclaimed books on the people of the foothills of the Appalachians, All Over but the Shoutin, Ava's Man, and The Prince of Frogtown.
Bragg, a native of Calhoun County, Alabama, calls these books the proudest examples of his writing life, what historians and critics have described as heart-breaking anthems of people usually written about only in fiction or cliches. They chronicle the lives of his family cotton pickers, mill workers, whiskey makers, long sufferers, and fist fighters. Bragg, who has written for the numerous magazines, ranging from Sports Illustrated to Food & Wine, was a newspaper writer for two decades, covering high school football for the Jacksonville News, and militant Islamic fundamentalism for The New York Times.
He has won more than 50 significant writing awards, in books and journalism, including, twice, the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1993, and is, truthfully, still a freshman at Jacksonville State University. Bragg is currently Professor of Writing in the Journalism Department at the University of Alabama, and lives in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Dianne, a doctoral student there, and his stepson, Jake. His only real hobby is fishing, but he is the worst fisherman in his family line.
Bragg, a native of Calhoun County, Alabama, calls these books the proudest examples of his writing life, what historians and critics have described as heart-breaking anthems of people usually written about only in fiction or cliches. They chronicle the lives of his family cotton pickers, mill workers, whiskey makers, long sufferers, and fist fighters. Bragg, who has written for the numerous magazines, ranging from Sports Illustrated to Food & Wine, was a newspaper writer for two decades, covering high school football for the Jacksonville News, and militant Islamic fundamentalism for The New York Times.
He has won more than 50 significant writing awards, in books and journalism, including, twice, the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1993, and is, truthfully, still a freshman at Jacksonville State University. Bragg is currently Professor of Writing in the Journalism Department at the University of Alabama, and lives in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Dianne, a doctoral student there, and his stepson, Jake. His only real hobby is fishing, but he is the worst fisherman in his family line.
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December 18, 2020
Update August 2016: A year after first reading the book, I checked out the audio recording read by Rick Bragg himself. It is even better than the original, if that is even possible. I may end up buying this recorded so that I can listen to it many more times. Bragg is priceless!
Original review September 2015
A friend of mine describes Rick Bragg as a ‘national treasure’. Even if that assessment is a tad overstated it can be safely applied to his relationship with the American South. From his touching memoir of his mother, ‘All Over But the Shoutin’’ to his recent biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, his works have beautifully expressed his undying love affair with the land of his birth.
‘My Southern Journey’ continues this love affair with a series of short articles, many reprinted from magazines, that describes, in his unique style, what makes ‘The South’ special. From its food to its music, from the back-country religions to the way neighbors pitched in and helped each other in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Bragg describes them all and does in that passionately biased way that he has that imbues even the most mundane aspects of life with a vibrancy that those of us who spring from Puritan stock seldom appreciate.
As an unrepentant Yankee, I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of how the English language is spoken in the South differs from the rest of the country. Speaking of Thanksgiving, Bragg said ‘When I mentioned that we were having turkey and dressing at my house, my Yankee friends looked confused. You mean, they asked, the stuff you put on salads? It is a miracle we only fought one war.’
Perhaps my favorite line from the book is when he describes his attitude towards drinking in general and drinking bourbon in particular. ‘I am not a big drinker, but there has always been something comforting about brown liquor. After one, I always felt like I was covered in a warm quilt. The secret, across my life and my ancestor’s lives, was not to drink seven more, turn the drink into a parachute, and jump off something tall.’
Speaking of moderation, I wouldn’t describe the book as ‘sweet’ but after reading it I can almost hear some woman’s voice saying ‘Ain’t that sweet!’ As with most things that are sweet, it’s not always wise to take too much at one sitting. I found that I enjoyed the stories the most when I limited my reading to two or three stories at a time.
***
*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review book was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.
FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
• 5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
• 4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
• 3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered good or memorable.
• 2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
• 1 Star - The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
Original review September 2015
A friend of mine describes Rick Bragg as a ‘national treasure’. Even if that assessment is a tad overstated it can be safely applied to his relationship with the American South. From his touching memoir of his mother, ‘All Over But the Shoutin’’ to his recent biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, his works have beautifully expressed his undying love affair with the land of his birth.
‘My Southern Journey’ continues this love affair with a series of short articles, many reprinted from magazines, that describes, in his unique style, what makes ‘The South’ special. From its food to its music, from the back-country religions to the way neighbors pitched in and helped each other in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Bragg describes them all and does in that passionately biased way that he has that imbues even the most mundane aspects of life with a vibrancy that those of us who spring from Puritan stock seldom appreciate.
As an unrepentant Yankee, I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of how the English language is spoken in the South differs from the rest of the country. Speaking of Thanksgiving, Bragg said ‘When I mentioned that we were having turkey and dressing at my house, my Yankee friends looked confused. You mean, they asked, the stuff you put on salads? It is a miracle we only fought one war.’
Perhaps my favorite line from the book is when he describes his attitude towards drinking in general and drinking bourbon in particular. ‘I am not a big drinker, but there has always been something comforting about brown liquor. After one, I always felt like I was covered in a warm quilt. The secret, across my life and my ancestor’s lives, was not to drink seven more, turn the drink into a parachute, and jump off something tall.’
Speaking of moderation, I wouldn’t describe the book as ‘sweet’ but after reading it I can almost hear some woman’s voice saying ‘Ain’t that sweet!’ As with most things that are sweet, it’s not always wise to take too much at one sitting. I found that I enjoyed the stories the most when I limited my reading to two or three stories at a time.
***
*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review book was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.
FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
• 5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
• 4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
• 3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered good or memorable.
• 2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
• 1 Star - The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
May 21, 2020
I fell deeply and madly in love with the South through Pat Conroy’s writing and I’ve been fortunate to have traveled its highways and byways for years, experiencing Southern hospitality and charm, all the while eating my way through all of its regional specialties. But you need not be a Southerner at heart to enjoy this collection of essays.
Rick Bragg has a gift and it is a wondrous thing. He is a storyteller, a conjurer of nostalgia, a master of language and the perfectly-turned phrase, and all tinged with a finely-tuned sense of humor and wicked wit. Every essay summons an emotion. There are tears to be shed, laughs that can’t be stifled, the occasional moment of anger and even when he goes into a deep reverie for Bear Bryant which, not being from Alabama I don’t fully understand, I can appreciate the sentimentality.
Picking favorite essays from the more than 70 is impossible, even the ones where I might not have been as engaged with the subject, I was enthralled with the writing and his deadpan drawl. Bragg narrates the audio and it is in his own voice that you want to experience these stories, as if you’re sitting on a porch swing, sipping sweet tea and the man is spinning his yarns for your ears only.
Sublime storytelling, perfect prose and wonderfully witty, I can’t recommend this enough.
Rick Bragg has a gift and it is a wondrous thing. He is a storyteller, a conjurer of nostalgia, a master of language and the perfectly-turned phrase, and all tinged with a finely-tuned sense of humor and wicked wit. Every essay summons an emotion. There are tears to be shed, laughs that can’t be stifled, the occasional moment of anger and even when he goes into a deep reverie for Bear Bryant which, not being from Alabama I don’t fully understand, I can appreciate the sentimentality.
Picking favorite essays from the more than 70 is impossible, even the ones where I might not have been as engaged with the subject, I was enthralled with the writing and his deadpan drawl. Bragg narrates the audio and it is in his own voice that you want to experience these stories, as if you’re sitting on a porch swing, sipping sweet tea and the man is spinning his yarns for your ears only.
Sublime storytelling, perfect prose and wonderfully witty, I can’t recommend this enough.
April 25, 2025
I got through last summer partially by reading the work of Rick Bragg. It was appropriate that I returned to him as summer approaches, this time reading his ode to family and the state of Alabama. Full review to come.
October 17, 2018
This is a delightful collection of essays from Rick Bragg, most of them republished from his column in Southern Living magazine. Topics cover food (of course), football (naturally), and a range of other stories about home, family, weather, and travel.
I picked up My Southern Journey because I had loved Bragg's latest book, The Best Cook in the World, and was tickled to find that some of the amusing family anecdotes from Cook also had small mentions in his essays.
I listened to both Bragg books on audio, narrated by the author, and I highly recommend them. Bragg has a marvelous reading voice and both books brought some Southern charm into my day.
Opening Passage
"It suits me, here. My people tell their stories of vast red fields and bitter turnip greens and harsh white whiskey like they are rocking in some invisible chair, smooth and easy even in the terrible parts, because the past has already done its worst. The joys of this Southern life, we polish like old silver. We are good at stories. We hoard them, like an old woman in a room full of boxes, but now and then we pull out our best, and spread them out like dinner on the ground. We talk of the bad year the cotton didn't open, and the day my cousin Wanda was Washed in the Blood. We cherish the past. We buff our beloved ancestors till they are smooth of sin, and give our scoundrels a hard shake, though sometimes we cannot remember exactly which is who."
I picked up My Southern Journey because I had loved Bragg's latest book, The Best Cook in the World, and was tickled to find that some of the amusing family anecdotes from Cook also had small mentions in his essays.
I listened to both Bragg books on audio, narrated by the author, and I highly recommend them. Bragg has a marvelous reading voice and both books brought some Southern charm into my day.
Opening Passage
"It suits me, here. My people tell their stories of vast red fields and bitter turnip greens and harsh white whiskey like they are rocking in some invisible chair, smooth and easy even in the terrible parts, because the past has already done its worst. The joys of this Southern life, we polish like old silver. We are good at stories. We hoard them, like an old woman in a room full of boxes, but now and then we pull out our best, and spread them out like dinner on the ground. We talk of the bad year the cotton didn't open, and the day my cousin Wanda was Washed in the Blood. We cherish the past. We buff our beloved ancestors till they are smooth of sin, and give our scoundrels a hard shake, though sometimes we cannot remember exactly which is who."
August 31, 2016
I've always loved Rick Bragg, so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed this compilation of essays he's written as magazine articles over the years. The closer I get to age 60 the more nostalgic I become. You don't need to have grown up in the South to relate to the stories here, as the deeply rooted love he has for a memory filled upbringing and " all things Southern" shines through. It might help if you grew up watching Gunsmoke on an enormous black and white TV while eating Little Debbie snack cakes.
5 stars
5 stars
September 13, 2016
It is a testament to how much I love this man's writings that I did not skip over the essays on football, but read every word. Some of these pieces made me laugh, and some made me cry, but they all made me proud of my southern heritage and upbringing.
September 9, 2016
Rick Bragg describes this book as "a kind of love story to the South". The book is made up of around seventy articles or essays, most from his column at "Southern Living". They range from the humorous to the heartfelt. It's the type of book that you can pick up when you have only a few minutes to read.
The stories about his family are some of my favorites. His love for his mother and other family members is evident. He grew up in a red clay area of Alabama filled with working class people. Life was a struggle, and he has never forgotten the sacrifices his mother made as she raised her sons without her absent husband. He's included a cute story about an old dog working his way into his mother's heart.
Stories about Thanksgiving dinners will leave the reader hungry. He also has a humorous story about coleslaw past its prime. Who can forget the first time they tried an oyster? Bragg's reaction was that the first one tasted like river mud.
Bragg is a master at storytelling, but his carpentry skills are severely lacking. He includes a funny story about sticking his fingers to the wall with Gorilla Glue when making home repairs--while his cell phone is too far away to call for help.
Other stories are about the various places where he lived. His disaster stories about a tornado, and about the BP oil spill were memorable. As a Northerner, I had to laugh at his reaction to snow in New York and Boston. He had a sweet memory of his grandmother scooping up the rare Alabama snow, and flavoring it with sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla to make "snow cream". He also included essays about Southern football.
Bragg's essays are very conversational so I checked out youtube to hear him speak. There were some lectures and readings about earlier books. I intended to watch for five minutes, but he was so engaging that I spent almost an hour listening to Bragg. Although I read the hardcover book, people may enjoy the audio version even more.
The stories about his family are some of my favorites. His love for his mother and other family members is evident. He grew up in a red clay area of Alabama filled with working class people. Life was a struggle, and he has never forgotten the sacrifices his mother made as she raised her sons without her absent husband. He's included a cute story about an old dog working his way into his mother's heart.
Stories about Thanksgiving dinners will leave the reader hungry. He also has a humorous story about coleslaw past its prime. Who can forget the first time they tried an oyster? Bragg's reaction was that the first one tasted like river mud.
Bragg is a master at storytelling, but his carpentry skills are severely lacking. He includes a funny story about sticking his fingers to the wall with Gorilla Glue when making home repairs--while his cell phone is too far away to call for help.
Other stories are about the various places where he lived. His disaster stories about a tornado, and about the BP oil spill were memorable. As a Northerner, I had to laugh at his reaction to snow in New York and Boston. He had a sweet memory of his grandmother scooping up the rare Alabama snow, and flavoring it with sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla to make "snow cream". He also included essays about Southern football.
Bragg's essays are very conversational so I checked out youtube to hear him speak. There were some lectures and readings about earlier books. I intended to watch for five minutes, but he was so engaging that I spent almost an hour listening to Bragg. Although I read the hardcover book, people may enjoy the audio version even more.
September 23, 2015
3.5 Bragg's love of the South, his heritage, customs and quirks definitely shines through in his writing. Many, if not all of these articles are repeats that have been published previously in Southern Living. Many of these I loved, the old dog, his mother as the cat lady, moonshine as a toddy and others. But, there were many that I think would be better understood if one was raised or living in the South, to be honest some left little or no impression on me at all. A few made me shudder. But, as always his writing is stellar, interesting and at times quite poignant. So all in all a good read, and I am sure to Southerners a great one.
Arc from Netgalley.
Arc from Netgalley.
March 7, 2022
This was my first outing with this author and I truly enjoyed it. The stories were interesting and captured my imagination and I love Rick Bragg's way with words. I plan to seek out more of his work in future. In the meantime, here are some passages I found particularly delightful:
"They say a kitchen is the heart of a house, but I believe the porch is its soul. From the very steps, you knew if you were welcome or not, knew everything you needed to know about the people inside."
"Porches were for talking, and rocking babies, and cutting okra and snapping beans and telling lies."
"In the evening the children would retreat beneath the porch to be away from their mamas and daddies, but still not quite away. Be with them and yet not right with them, which is a delicious thing that only a child really understands."
"As Southerners we know that a man with a chainsaw is worth ten with a clipboard, that there is no hurt in this world, even in the storm of the century, that cannot be comforted with a casserole and that faith in the hereafter or in neighbors who help you through there here and now cannot be knocked down."
"I miss the stillness it is an antique in this shrill intruding life."
"The story would be told and retold, sharpened every time, an old razor that still draws blood."
"They say a kitchen is the heart of a house, but I believe the porch is its soul. From the very steps, you knew if you were welcome or not, knew everything you needed to know about the people inside."
"Porches were for talking, and rocking babies, and cutting okra and snapping beans and telling lies."
"In the evening the children would retreat beneath the porch to be away from their mamas and daddies, but still not quite away. Be with them and yet not right with them, which is a delicious thing that only a child really understands."
"As Southerners we know that a man with a chainsaw is worth ten with a clipboard, that there is no hurt in this world, even in the storm of the century, that cannot be comforted with a casserole and that faith in the hereafter or in neighbors who help you through there here and now cannot be knocked down."
"I miss the stillness it is an antique in this shrill intruding life."
"The story would be told and retold, sharpened every time, an old razor that still draws blood."
September 7, 2016
Enjoyable collection of stories that Bragg shares with us about growing up and living in the south. Lots of the stories are a reflection of my own story of growing up southern. Some are quite funny and others are a little emotional. Highly recommend the audio version where Bragg himself reads.
November 1, 2015
Surely everyone knows about the words of Rick Bragg. Do I need to go on? I'll make my own title for this: 'Short Stories and Anecdotes'. This is a collection of articles from Southern Living magazine as well as Garden and Gun, GQ, Bon Apetite, and others. Subjects are categorized as Home, Table, Place, Craft, and Spirit. The predominant length for each is two pages, but there are several of four to six pages. There is a good deal of writing on the subject of food, so make sure to have dinner before you read! Reading this is much like listening to a friend or favorite relative tell of their adventures, travels, or childhood. There are so many stories here I recommend reading just a few at a time to prolong the experience. The stories are short, poignant, personal, endearing, and will make you laugh a little too. A pretty dam swell collection!
October 8, 2020
I’ve had a physical copy of this book for probably around five years now, since it was first released, although I have only recently read this, or, really, listened to the audiobook, and loved listening to him tell his stories. I first read All Over But the Shoutin’ a little over four years ago and fell in love with his storytelling, and the way he took me straight into his story, like Alice falling into the rabbit hole or Wendy flying away with Peter Pan, I was just swept away by the magical way he weaves his personal stories.
Since then, I’ve read a book by him almost every year, hoping to prolong the joy of always having at least one more book of his to wait for, knowing there will come a time when it is a cure for all that ails me - even if only for a time. In 2017, it was Ava’s Man and in 2018, it was The Prince of Frogtown and was once more swept away by Bragg’s story. That year I also read his then newest book, The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma's Table which is part memoir, part cookbook, and all shared with Bragg’s magical touch.
Through a collection of essays which cover a variety of topics, Bragg manages, once again, to weave a collection of essays that cover a broad territory, spackling, the bleakness of winters, slow-moving dogs, school days, notebooks that represented the smell of a fresh start, and teachers, and more. But in all honesty, I’m not sure it matters what he’s sharing a story about as much as how he shares his memories of days as clearly, and with as much cheekiness, charm and clarity as if he had just experienced it all over again.
Most of these essays appeared over time in Southern Living, as well as Smithsonian and Bon Appetit magazines, and are divided into five sections -- Home, Place, Table, Craft, and Spirit. Reading this is a little like a trip through the South with Bragg as your tour guide - the kind that will keep your attention throughout, and you’ll enjoy so much you hate for it to end. Listening to him share these essays made me love hearing them even more.
Many thanks to my friend Victoria, whose recent review for this prompted me to move it up the list. Check out her review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
June 22, 2022
Free for Audible-UK-Plus members.
I was skeptical when I picked this up, unsure if it would work for me As it was free, I wanted to give it a chance. I usually prefer long books rather than collections of essays or short stories.
I do like Rick Bragg’s writing, but the very short essays collected here fail to give me the depth I look for in that which I read. The essays are grouped by subject matter. There are sections on “place”, “food” and “sports”, for example. The latter two are of little interest to me. Maybe such subjects do interest you.
Bragg writes of southern literature and authors, but it consists primarily of a listing of names and titles. I would have been much more pleased had the author explained in depth his personal views and the reasons for these views.
A sentence or two about Bragg’s own life is thrown in now and then. I would not classify this as an autobiographical work. Portions form earlier articles are reprinted here.
I vehemently disagree with Bragg’s attitudes concerning exercise and food. Personally, exercise, which is for me walking in nature, is something I truly enjoy. Furthermore, I eat to live. I don’t live to eat. It seems to be the other way around for him. True, people are different. I don’t necessarily expect others to think as I do. My views do, however, influence how I rate the book!
As said, I like some of Bragg’s lines. Here follow a few short quotes that I appreciate:
* “Nostalgia is a veil, a piece of colored glass.”
This line gets you thinking.
* “Food triggers memories.”
This is true, of course, and I think this is why many people enjoy reading about food. Their own memories flood back. In writing about food, I think authors are sort of cheating; it is not necessary to provide emotive text since readers’ memories are substituted.
* “I do not love clothes, and you cannot make me……New clothes are not comfortable….I do not love to shop.”
Bragg’s view of clothes IS a view I share. Here, I couldn’t agree more!
Bragg saw and took the time to pay attention to cows in a field that ALL looked up into the heavens at the approach of a thunderstorm. That he saw and noticed is somthing I like too.
Rick Bragg reads the audiobook. He reads slowly, in a leisurely, laidback manner. Not all but most words are clearly spoken. His narration I have given three stars. I think it best that he reads his own book. His tone further conveys his attitudes and views.
There are tidbits in this collection that I do enjoy. It is for these I am willing to raise my rating from one to two stars. For me, the book is OK, not terrible. Much, on the other hand, bored me.
*******************
*Ava's Man 4 stars
*The Prince of Frogtown 4 stars
*The Most They Ever Had 3 stars
*My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South 2 stars
*All Over But the Shoutin' TBR, but not available for me
November 7, 2016
3 stars
I've been a Rick Bragg fan for well over five years now and cannot (nay, will not) stop singing the praises of the homages to his family, warts and all (particularly the stunning Ava's Man and All Over but the Shoutin'.) If you're even remotely interested in hardscrabble life in the South (the Tennessee River Valley region of Alabama to be exact), as relayed by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, those two books are absolutely essential reading.
My Southern Journey, while unmistakably Rick Bragg, feels very choppy and 'Chicken-n-Dumplins-For-The-Soul'--esque. Roughly 75% of these stories were originally printed in Southern Living Magazine, a Better Homes and Gardens knock-off for the moneyed Mint Julep and Faux-Plantation set, obligatory reading in doctors'/dentists' offices down here. If you get bored enough waiting for your appointment leafing through the decorative kudzu articles and pecan creme brulee recipes, you might stumble across Bragg's "Southern Journal" column on the last page. These dinky columns do provide an essence o' Bragg (if only provide goo-ily written "There's No Place Like Home"-ish bromides) and any Rick Bragg (even ADD-length Bragg) is better than no Bragg at all, but dinky articles about "snow cream" (the homemade "ice cream" you make when it snows down here in the South), lazing on the porch, and the differences between "piddling" and "loafering" (each with their own article) are all fine and dandy, but don't really give you much insight as to Bragg's "Southern Journey".
The best stories were those few not culled from Southern Living Magazine (perhaps not coincidentally because they're longer than a page in length), like one taken from the dubiously-named Garden & Gun Magazine, "The Lost Gulf", about the 2010 eco-disaster wrought in the Gulf of Mexico by BP and over-zealous gulf drilling practices; a few pretty great articles on Southern Cuisine; and a dated (but still plenty interesting if you're at all a football fan, and who in the South is not?) Sports Illustrated article "Nick of Time", when Nick Saban in 2007 took over the legacy that is the University of Alabama football program, still in 2016 one of the perennial powerhouses in college sports today.
The rest, though, kind of a mixed bag: nothing terrible, but nothing really you couldn't glean from his outstanding memoirs. Read those first; read these stories when you've got some spare time to "piddle around" with.
I've been a Rick Bragg fan for well over five years now and cannot (nay, will not) stop singing the praises of the homages to his family, warts and all (particularly the stunning Ava's Man and All Over but the Shoutin'.) If you're even remotely interested in hardscrabble life in the South (the Tennessee River Valley region of Alabama to be exact), as relayed by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, those two books are absolutely essential reading.
My Southern Journey, while unmistakably Rick Bragg, feels very choppy and 'Chicken-n-Dumplins-For-The-Soul'--esque. Roughly 75% of these stories were originally printed in Southern Living Magazine, a Better Homes and Gardens knock-off for the moneyed Mint Julep and Faux-Plantation set, obligatory reading in doctors'/dentists' offices down here. If you get bored enough waiting for your appointment leafing through the decorative kudzu articles and pecan creme brulee recipes, you might stumble across Bragg's "Southern Journal" column on the last page. These dinky columns do provide an essence o' Bragg (if only provide goo-ily written "There's No Place Like Home"-ish bromides) and any Rick Bragg (even ADD-length Bragg) is better than no Bragg at all, but dinky articles about "snow cream" (the homemade "ice cream" you make when it snows down here in the South), lazing on the porch, and the differences between "piddling" and "loafering" (each with their own article) are all fine and dandy, but don't really give you much insight as to Bragg's "Southern Journey".
The best stories were those few not culled from Southern Living Magazine (perhaps not coincidentally because they're longer than a page in length), like one taken from the dubiously-named Garden & Gun Magazine, "The Lost Gulf", about the 2010 eco-disaster wrought in the Gulf of Mexico by BP and over-zealous gulf drilling practices; a few pretty great articles on Southern Cuisine; and a dated (but still plenty interesting if you're at all a football fan, and who in the South is not?) Sports Illustrated article "Nick of Time", when Nick Saban in 2007 took over the legacy that is the University of Alabama football program, still in 2016 one of the perennial powerhouses in college sports today.
The rest, though, kind of a mixed bag: nothing terrible, but nothing really you couldn't glean from his outstanding memoirs. Read those first; read these stories when you've got some spare time to "piddle around" with.
June 19, 2022
I’ve read every book Rick Bragg has ever written. I’m a fellow Alabamian and I love the South. Rick Bragg reading his book was icing on the cake for me! Now, I must listen to them all. He’s also a favorite author because I can relate to everything he writes. I don’t think you have to be from the South to enjoy this one but he was “speaking my language.” Laugh out loud funny in places and heartwarming in other places this was a winner for me. We’re not all storytellers but Rick is one of the best.
January 3, 2019
3.5 stars but rounded up for the phrasing. Southern USA supreme phrasing ambiance. Not just the trite, but the exact.
It lost a star in the repetitive nature of the short pieces. Having run the full boat ancestry and relative books of Rick Bragg- many of these were retelling the same in just a few varying circumstances.
But still. Ava, Margaret, Jo, Edna his siblings and all the men and their tools- they all come alive. As does his love of the home places of his Southern birth and life.
The food section was great. The places section was even better. And the ending which circled some changes was good too.
And what he says is true. Nearly all of it- is not hyperbole at all. Spending about 2 or 3 weeks each in areas of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida on the Gulf or inland about 10 times in the last 15 years- I find his copy just about as spot on now as it was when he wrote it.
But he isn't always "correct" in his food judgments. He's just not been to the "right" places up North. Believe me, iron skillets came with the women from peasant Sicily exactly 100 years ago. And I still own it. And use it too. And it isn't only in the South that hog killing was a week or two social gathering either.
Actually I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't see in the Chicago Stockyards when they were going full tilt- more slaughtering and butchering with my own Girl Scout Troop. Believe me, none of us were snowflakes about the knacker or just afterwards. Possibly he was MORE sheltered.
Football (Roll Tide) and much of the rest is completely understood by this reader- it's terribly entertaining all around to hear about the women of such strength especially. Lovely, lovely feel good book filled with immense word pictures.
It lost a star in the repetitive nature of the short pieces. Having run the full boat ancestry and relative books of Rick Bragg- many of these were retelling the same in just a few varying circumstances.
But still. Ava, Margaret, Jo, Edna his siblings and all the men and their tools- they all come alive. As does his love of the home places of his Southern birth and life.
The food section was great. The places section was even better. And the ending which circled some changes was good too.
And what he says is true. Nearly all of it- is not hyperbole at all. Spending about 2 or 3 weeks each in areas of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida on the Gulf or inland about 10 times in the last 15 years- I find his copy just about as spot on now as it was when he wrote it.
But he isn't always "correct" in his food judgments. He's just not been to the "right" places up North. Believe me, iron skillets came with the women from peasant Sicily exactly 100 years ago. And I still own it. And use it too. And it isn't only in the South that hog killing was a week or two social gathering either.
Actually I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't see in the Chicago Stockyards when they were going full tilt- more slaughtering and butchering with my own Girl Scout Troop. Believe me, none of us were snowflakes about the knacker or just afterwards. Possibly he was MORE sheltered.
Football (Roll Tide) and much of the rest is completely understood by this reader- it's terribly entertaining all around to hear about the women of such strength especially. Lovely, lovely feel good book filled with immense word pictures.
November 2, 2016
I loved these stories told with laugh-out-loud humor and tear-inducing poignancy. Bragg, a southern boy from Alabama, hits all the right notes whether he is writing about family, food, pride of place, being an outsider in northern cities, romance, break-ups, his step-son or holiday traditions. And did I mention food? He is especially funny when talking food; one essay on cole slaw had me rolling! And another story about cast iron pans and how his mother saved hers from the ashes of a house fire tugged at my heart.
I'm so glad I listened to Bragg telling his own stories. I'm also glad that I listened to this an hour at a time between other books. I think there is so much similarity among the stories that listening straight through would have diluted the effect of individual essays.
Recommended!
I'm so glad I listened to Bragg telling his own stories. I'm also glad that I listened to this an hour at a time between other books. I think there is so much similarity among the stories that listening straight through would have diluted the effect of individual essays.
Recommended!
January 2, 2022
Rick Bragg’s career is a love letter to his family and to the South. I enjoyed the audio of My Southern Journey, a collection of essays read by the author with wit, nostalgia, and insight into Southern culture.
Bragg explores home/community, food, geography, college football, fishing, and family among other gently meandering topics, engaging readers with poignant writing most everyone (SEC fan or not) can appreciate.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
Bragg explores home/community, food, geography, college football, fishing, and family among other gently meandering topics, engaging readers with poignant writing most everyone (SEC fan or not) can appreciate.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
January 15, 2019
I fell in love with the beginning of this book, but the author lost me when he rolled out all the football essays. I'm giving it 3.75 stars rounded up to 4. Would easily have been 4.5 if not for the football segment.
July 31, 2018
Do yourself a favor and listen to this on audiobook. Then do yourself a favor and if you're addicted to 1.5 speed, don't. For one thing, you won't want to rush this. You'll want the full 8 hours 43 minutes. And for another thing, even though Rick Bragg's voice sounds perfectly normal at 1.5, since he speaks so slowly, that drawl is at least half of the charm.
Next time I'm finding myself a little anxious, I might just turn this on. It's really hard to think anything bad could happen in the world when Rick Bragg is talking about oysters or his mama's iron skillet or the "unshorn Kardasians" (aka the Duck Dynasty guys).
Next time I'm finding myself a little anxious, I might just turn this on. It's really hard to think anything bad could happen in the world when Rick Bragg is talking about oysters or his mama's iron skillet or the "unshorn Kardasians" (aka the Duck Dynasty guys).
October 21, 2015
Seldom have I enjoyed a book like I did, My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South! I chose to listen to this book on audible and I am sooooo happy I did! What an amazing bonus it was to hear the stories in the author's voice. Rick Bragg is a true storyteller in the "old school" way of storytellers. Listening to him read his stories was like sitting on the front porch and listening to my dad tell stories. I got the same warm feeling and had the same grin on my face long after the story was over.
March 2, 2019
Treat yourself to the audio version. Rick reads the book himself and his sweet, deep Southern accent is music to my ears.
August 18, 2015
"[...]I felt a comfort in that room, and in that company, I have seldom known. Maybe that is because by taking me into their past, they took me back to my own."
Ahhh, Rick Bragg. I have read bits and pieces of his work for years, mostly when I was going to Bama and traveling the circles that talked about every new work he produced. This book is a compilation of his articles centering around the southern way of life that he grew up surrounded by, and I pretty much loved every story.
When I was younger I wanted nothing more than to run away from all things "Southern". I didn't want to be part of a culture that was known for so many awful things, and ridiculed for being unintelligent and stuck in the past. As I've grown older I've ended up growing more and more proud to have grown up here. Bragg's stories hit the heart of that love, and his introduction alone expressed so many of those feelings.
He shares stories about the deep family roots we cling to here. About our suspicious nature when it comes to "Yankees", especially concerning their alarming tradition of making "stuffing" instead of dressing. Our shared love, not religion, of football (there are several Bama-centric articles, fyi). He devotes an entire section to the food of the south and the bonding experiences it creates throughout our entire lives, not to mention the act of "saying grace" that must happen before one bite is touched. He delves into the architecture and landscapes of the coast, beaches, farms, and small towns we cherish.
Just to cherry pick a few of my favorites, I would have to say that "Red Dirt" is right at the top. Bragg's descriptions of the pervasiveness of the stuff and how ground in it becomes struck a real nerve though I haven't had time to fully process why yet. "Bad Slaw" made me want to start a campaign to bring greater awareness of the travesty being perpetrated to this most essential of southern foods. "Why I Write About Home" was a beautiful expression of exactly what the title states. "Stuck for Good" was just hilarious. Especially his impression of call-ins to radio stations. Spot. On. Roll Tide.
I don't know that someone not from the south would completely enjoy this collection, simply because this is our culture and I could see it being hard to enjoy it the way someone with shared experiences would. But I would like to hear a take on it from someone is another region. I love where I'm from, no matter the opinions of those who have no idea of our true culture, and reading Bragg's work put that love into words.
Copy courtesy of Time Inc. Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ahhh, Rick Bragg. I have read bits and pieces of his work for years, mostly when I was going to Bama and traveling the circles that talked about every new work he produced. This book is a compilation of his articles centering around the southern way of life that he grew up surrounded by, and I pretty much loved every story.
When I was younger I wanted nothing more than to run away from all things "Southern". I didn't want to be part of a culture that was known for so many awful things, and ridiculed for being unintelligent and stuck in the past. As I've grown older I've ended up growing more and more proud to have grown up here. Bragg's stories hit the heart of that love, and his introduction alone expressed so many of those feelings.
He shares stories about the deep family roots we cling to here. About our suspicious nature when it comes to "Yankees", especially concerning their alarming tradition of making "stuffing" instead of dressing. Our shared love, not religion, of football (there are several Bama-centric articles, fyi). He devotes an entire section to the food of the south and the bonding experiences it creates throughout our entire lives, not to mention the act of "saying grace" that must happen before one bite is touched. He delves into the architecture and landscapes of the coast, beaches, farms, and small towns we cherish.
Just to cherry pick a few of my favorites, I would have to say that "Red Dirt" is right at the top. Bragg's descriptions of the pervasiveness of the stuff and how ground in it becomes struck a real nerve though I haven't had time to fully process why yet. "Bad Slaw" made me want to start a campaign to bring greater awareness of the travesty being perpetrated to this most essential of southern foods. "Why I Write About Home" was a beautiful expression of exactly what the title states. "Stuck for Good" was just hilarious. Especially his impression of call-ins to radio stations. Spot. On. Roll Tide.
I don't know that someone not from the south would completely enjoy this collection, simply because this is our culture and I could see it being hard to enjoy it the way someone with shared experiences would. But I would like to hear a take on it from someone is another region. I love where I'm from, no matter the opinions of those who have no idea of our true culture, and reading Bragg's work put that love into words.
Copy courtesy of Time Inc. Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 31, 2015
I'm as much a New Englander as Rick Bragg is a Southerner but with clients all over the southeast, I can certainly understand his love affair with his home. Especially now, as I have made numerous trips through the area on business but with side trips to Civil War sites, my 5th great grandmother's grave site, friends in the southern states, etc. While I have now lived in Florida for 30+ years (and am not sure that counts as the south since few here are from here), I enjoy getting into the surrounding states and learning their history and meeting their people. While Rick has captured the specific Southern essence, he has also put our common humanity on display. Well done set of articles!
October 5, 2016
I love this book of exceptional stories! I can't believe I've never read any of his books before but will certainly pick up more of Mr. Bragg's! Most of them are sweet as iced tea on a hot afternoon, with some laugh out loud moments. His love for his mother is touching and honoring; his love for reading shines throughout his life stories, and the honesty behind growing up in the South of the 60's makes for a wonderful compilation of memories. Recommended!
October 25, 2015
I had to give up on this "aw shucks--we just eat our our troubles away" collection of southern lifestyle stories.
Tale after fat filled episode, this book was giving me a stomach ache reading about foodie attacks.
I ditched this bag of doughy doughnuts. After a few accounts of the author scheduling his day around access to fried food, enough.
Tale after fat filled episode, this book was giving me a stomach ache reading about foodie attacks.
I ditched this bag of doughy doughnuts. After a few accounts of the author scheduling his day around access to fried food, enough.
April 4, 2019
This collection, largely culled from Southern Living, also contains articles originally published in Sports Illustrated, GQ, and more. Bragg’s stories of Alabama and New Orleans, food, family, and SEC football together form a nice little love letter to the south. His soothing drawl - I listened to the audio - and wry wit are a delightful combination. He writes with such love and humor. I adore him.
July 19, 2019
Excellent slices of Southern life and heritage, read by the author. I really enjoyed them, even when the topics included things I normally avoid like the plague, i.e., football, hunting, and heavy meat-filled cooking. I did have to use the variable speed available on Hoopla to speed up Mr. Bragg's drawl!
September 24, 2016
I enjoyed these essays very much, though some, of course, were better than others. I particularly liked the ones about food (and that's a lot of them) -- tomorrow night I'll be pulling out my long-neglected cast iron skillet and frying some chicken, and I'm even planning to try to make hush puppies (from Martha White's mix, because ten years in North Carolina haven't been enough to turn this Floridian into a proper Southerner, but Mr. Bragg has inspired me to try, anyway!). The one about being a donkey farmer was also a favorite (I don't plan to try this myself, though), as was the one about his efforts at home repair. Really the only section that dragged for me was the football section, and I don't think anyone could write about football in a way that would hold my interest for long. If the "down home country boy" thing got to be a bit much from time to time it was more a result of the format -- these are short pieces from various publications, written over a period of, I think, about fifteen years -- than of any heavy handedness in the writing. Ideally I'd have read these over a period of a couple weeks, but the library wanted their book back so I gulped it when it would have been best enjoyed read a couple essays at a go. Anyway, this is a funny and affectionate view of southern living, and I enjoyed reading it.
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