Suck Your Stomach in and Put Some Color On!: What Southern Mamas Tell Their Daughters that the Rest of Y'all Should Know Too

by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson

The host of All Things Southern shares the sass and strength of Southern mamas in this spunky guide to life.

In this humorous handbook, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, host of All Things Southern , reveals the all-important lessons Southern Mamas teach their daughters. Readers will discover why blue eye shadow is trashy and learn to interpret regional dialect like the Southern Mama APB, a bulletin translated on Southern streets “Give your heart to Jesus, girl, because your butt is all mine!”

Shellie carefully breaks down the teachings behind those famous manners and social graces through her firsthand observations and dry wit. Here’s everything you need to know from how to cope with the unexpected, compete in the Mr. Right Game Show, raise children, and how to keep that marriage knot tied tight over time. Woven with quotes from real Southern Mamas and sprinkled with recipes and other Southern secrets, this book’s a bona-fide celebration of all things south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Southern, Chick Lit, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

I fell in love with storytelling as a child when my paternal grandmother regaled us with stories of what it was like to come to Louisiana from the hills of Appalachia and set up house in a tent with a dirt floor. On the other side of the family tree, my paternal grandfather, a people loving preacher, was known for using humor to draw his listeners to Jesus. It's safe to say the two of them marked me. Whether in my books, speaking before audiences, or dropping a segment on The Story Table podcast I created, I love nothing more than helping hungry hearts feast on Jesus through humor and storytelling. ~Shellie


Shellie Rushing Tomlinson lives in Lake Providence, Louisiana with her husband, Phil. They have two happily married kids, six grandchildren, and one neurotic lab named Hank. There's a story there...

Reviews

[Kitty Tomlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious take on Southern life--especially in Louisiana. Laugh out loud funny. I’m going to buy this book.

[Lori Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was really interesting to see how my raising and experiences have coincided with hers. I now know that I've had a truly Southern raising. I also loved the recipes that are included throughout this book. I can't wait to try them all. I've tracked down her website and it's a lot of fun to go to as well.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

The Southern culture was portrayed in a funny and meaningful way. I laughed out loud many times throughout this book, sometimes because of what happened, but more often because of how it was written. I bookmarked many pages to return to because they made me laugh or contained pearls of wisdom. The recipes that concluded each chapter were a fun addition. I even loved reading them through to see how the directions were worded.

I would recommend this book to women. All women. At least all Southern women. The book is about womanhood, so all girls can relate to parts of it. Plus, it's all about mamas and daughters. How could you go wrong?

Funny, well-written, easy to relate to, full of insight. Shellie Rushing Tomlinson is "sweet" like her Mama taught her to be in "Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On."

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book failed to interest me after a few chapters, and I ended up just skimming to the end. I was expecting to learn something new, but all the Southern Mom advice was the same stuff I heard growing up in a family whose roots were established in Ohio over two hundred years ago. There was a tone in the writing that implied that all things Southern are better than elsewhere that really turned me off. If the book had been marketed as a book of universal motherly advice, I don't think I would have been as annoyed with it.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was annoying and underwhelming. That's not a good combination. The whole Southern thing is just so overdone-I really felt like I heard all the same jokes and stereotypes before. And I hate to tell the author-but I have absolutely no Southern roots (except the pretend ones because of my two years in VA) and I got ALL the same advice and direction growing up. So it really is just a tribute to good parenting-rather than southern parenting.

But I did like the title because the chapter with that advice was probably the best/funniest in the book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book, but I had a hard time staying interested in the stories--the same stories, jokes and anecdotes I've read a hundred times before.

I love Southern humor so I went into this book expecting the likes of Jill Connor Browne or Celia Rivenbark, which this wasn't. However it's entirely possible that had I read this closer to its release date and not several years later--after I've read many other Southern humor books--maybe I wouldn't have felt that the book was played-out and in some cases trying too hard.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. The guidance was nothing new. Cute quotes from All Things Southern readers/listeners, but all of the rest of the info was nothing different/better than what I've already learned from my mom, grandmother or aunts. All of the recipes are either in my head, in my recipe book (directly from my grandmother's archives) or available at SouthernLiving.com. Cute title, but I was expecting more.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny book. I enjoyed and I can't wait to try some of the recipes. Most of the advice or rather how she was raised was how I was raised. I guess there is some "Southern" in me! Really I just think that the South has held onto the manners and dignity of a time that has gone by and now has unfortunately warped into all for yourself era instead all for one.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I was expecting a lot more of the quirky southern-isms (like dancing with a broom at your younger sibling's wedding). Many of her observations were not uniquely southern.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you have a southern mama, you’re gonna enjoy this book. i saw my mama (and myself!) in so much of it.

“there are a lot of things i do for no other reason than because mama did it that way before me.” yep, 100%.

i miss my southern mama every day….

[Stefanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overdone and not funny. I think this is for old people. I'm keeping my copy for the recipes, but wouldn't recommend it.

[Jessie Seymour · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On at a little shop on Amelia Island, Florida back in March when I visited with my mom. It's a carefree book about all things southern. It has a light-hearted feel with a deep south touch that only southern women can do. It's not a story though, so don't expect a main character or plot or anything like that. Instead, expect memories from the author's life all about her Southern Mama. From childhood to love and marriage to manners and social graces, Shellie Tomlinson explains her take on the southern lifestyle, and she even throws in all sorts of recipes that we southerners love.

You know, the subtitle of the book is "What Southern Mamas tell their daughters that the rest of y'all should know too." I don't think that's a totally accurate description of what this book is. A much better way to describe it would be: "What the author's Southern Mama told her." I don't if y'all have read Why Men Love Bitches (if you haven't, you should), but that's kinda what I was expecting here. I thought the author would give a fairly standard southern saying or attitude or what have you, explain why it's important in the south, explain why everyone else should adopt it (or at least be accepting of it), and maybe give a personal story regarding it. That's not what this was. It was much more this was my life, this is what my Mama did, and there you go. I didn't feel like I was really gaining anything from this book, which is what the title and subtitle imply. And I don't know about you, but when I'm expecting something a particular way and don't get it, I have a hard accepting what I'm actually getting and enjoying it.

I also thought the story-telling part of this book wasn't very strong. I felt like the author would start on something then move to something else without every really finishing her thought. It made it hard for me to really find "the point" to each chapter's subsections. Then again, I was also looking to gain something the whole time, similar to a self-help kind of book, and I don't think that's what this book is at all.

As a Georgia girl born and raised, I was also expecting to truly relate to the book. I am all about the South and my southern heritage, but there were many things in this book that I just couldn't relate to. The author is from Louisiana, so that probably has a lot to do with it, but I'm picky about my southern roots, and I don't like them being portrayed inaccurately. Now, I'm not belittling the author's life or experiences by any means. I'm just saying there are obvious differences between the Louisiana way and the Georgia way, so if you choose to read this book and you're from the South, don't expect to relate to every little thing.

All in all, I can't say I really cared for this book. It wasn't what I was expecting, and it mainly has to do with the title being misleading. It didn't match with the content of the book. However, there were some things I could agree with like the importance of a thank you note and dressing modestly. I also like all the recipes that were included, and I'm hoping to try my hand at some of them. But overall, I felt like I couldn't fully follow the author's train of thought. There were also so many personal stories that it was hard to relate to the book, and being a southern girl, I want to relate to southern books. It bothered me that I couldn't. I don't know. I don't like giving bad reviews, but this book just wasn't my favorite. You win some, you lose some...

[Mikki Ibarra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It was simply written, had amusing little quips in it from various Southern women, but I did have one issue with it. Most of the Southern women that I have known have not been so fundamentalist as Mrs. Tomlinson. Perhaps she was exaggerating her viewpoints but most of the Southerners that I have known have been open minded about things that she stated were fundamentally opposite Southern "values" and I felt as if she was making blanket statements about her own family rather than "Southern Mamas". I have already told my younger sister that it is far too fundamentalist Baptist to remain on my bookshelf so I will be copying the great recipes down and then shipping it off to her in Tennessee. This is not to say that it wasn't a book that I would recommend, simply a book that I would not recommend it to fellow liberal minded people except for perhaps those that I want to get a rise out of.

[Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a very sweet tribute to the author's mother. But that does not make it a good book. This is the type of book one self-publishes for one's family, local church, or local history society...the people who actually know the author or her Mama.

The Mama stories and quotes are nothing new or startling. They're not even particularly humorous or southern. Honestly, I love southern lit but this doesn't even come close to doing the genre justice. Take "Southern" out of the title and see if you'd still be interested.

I imagine the author's website quotation contributors enjoy seeing their names in print. But the quotations are platitudes you've heard a million times before and truly are long past the point of attribution. Nothing new there.

This book is pale, insipid and boring. An extended high school theme paper on "why I love my mama." Laudable but not worth buying. Love the cover & title tho.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book on Southern manners and culture. My husband takes frequent business trips to NC and I go along sometimes. I was so pleasantly surprised by the gracious manners used in that state, (and presumably most of the southern states). It's nice to be in a place where people actually know manners and USE them. There is a lot of good humor in this book and Shellie is kind of a female Jeff Foxworthy. She also has a radio show and a blog.

I am not sure I agree with the manners all being southern though. My Mama taught me most of what was in this book, and she lived in the mid-west growing up and had immigrant parents who didn't know a lot of the American manners and ways. Regardless, manners well used bring a graciousness to life that is sorely missing these days.

[Phyllis Barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!!!!!!!!!!! Being a Southern Mama myself, I could totally relate. Some of the things were absolutely hysterical (good thing I was alone because my family would have worried about my sanity.) And I loved that she included recipes. A lot of them I already knew (see part about being a Southern Mama) but a lot of new cooks don't know them, and I was THRILLLLLLLLLED to see she included a recipe for Potato Candy. Now I can tell my friends I'm not crazy, it really is A THING. If you like humorous writing, women's writing, and ANYTHING SOUTHERN this is the book for you. Shellie, I don't how I haven't discovered you by now, but I'm so glad I did. I will be checking out her website and her other book.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay - entertaining enough to continue reading, but nothing groundbreaking. I thought the author told stories in a funny way, but the anecdotes were similar to what I've read in other "southern raised" books. Content-wise, I found quite a bit of the "southern" advice being the same advice I got from my mother having grown up in the Northeast, so it seemed less about geography and more about just general child-rearing. Either way, it was a fun pool read, and perhaps southerners would be able to appreciate it more (I do love her use of Sugar and Darlin. Now that's definitely a southern thing!). Worth a read if you're between more serious books and want a break.

[Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the quotes from the Southern women from around my neck of the woods. I thought this book would be a lot better than it was. I am from Louisiana and have lots of family down south, so I thought this book would sort of resemble what my family taught me. It was nothing like that. We are not really like that down here. My family talks very openly about lots of things, and this book makes it sound like we are a bunch of prudes. It was also not very funny in my opinion, although it seemed like the author was trying to be funny. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, unless you want to flip through and read the quotes from people.

[Margaret Elder · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started reading this, I thought it was a little too folksy and put-on for my taste. Because I am a little OCD about finishing what I start to read, however, I continued. And the more I read, the better I liked the book. The author describes a Southern Mom correctly. I know because I had one. Nothing in the book was new to me, but by the end I enjoyed the frequent reminders of my own Mom, who died over two decades ago. The advice in this book is all good advice; the relationship between Southern Mom and Southern Daughter is apt; and the recipes at the end of each chapter are an added bonus for the reader.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all, I loved this book. It's my new parenting guide. I've made no secret that I wish I was a natural born Southern girl. I do have to say that so many things in this book reminded me of my Gran and even my Mom. I think this stuff just gets in your DNA and you can't get it out.
The recipes are fun, but the stories are better. The world would be a better place, I think, if we all would just adopt the niceties that exist in the South. And the food. Heavens, yes, the food!

[Julie N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book at my Mema's house in Waycross, GA - just about as far South as you can be without being in Florida. Reading it on a trip there with my Mama and her Mama was perfect! So cute and funny and I could literally hear their voices saying the same things that were being said in the book - every once in a while I'd read a passage about something that my Southern Mamas had just talked about!

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was ready to LAUGH OUT LOUD at this book....and it just wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be. It did have some humorous places and definitely was accurate about how being a female in the South is...and explained a few things to me that I have seen growing up...like the "tombstone twitch", the importance of writing prompt and important thank you notes, and why you cut both ends off a ham before you cook it.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Tomlinson brings to life a true life story of how our Southern phrases we are taught as "little ladies" come around. As you read it you can hear your mother, grandmother, or aunts say it. It can be quite humorous. Of course I am a sucker for Southern based books. I also enjoyed the recipes that were related to the content of each chapter. I can't wait to try some of these I haven't had before. I look forward to reading her next book.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister gave me this book and I read / laughed til I cried my way through it in one sitting. Child, rest! Heifer, hush! Shellie tells my story as she shares hers. I need to hint up my tube of stop-light red lipstick because Mamma says, "Even a barn door looks better with a little paint on it."

[Denise Jo]

Oh my gosh. This book was hilarious, and I could see so many of things in people I know. myself included. It was an added bonus that the end of each chapter has a few recipes, but the family story will keep you laughing as your reading it, and then when you least expect it, a passage will pop in your head and your going to start laughing about it. Well, at least I did....

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some funny stories. I may even try a few of the recipes. However, I could not relate in any way to the conservative, fundamental and close-minded "values" that Tomlinson equates to Southernism. After the first couple chapters, the book feels extremely repetitive and I forced myself to skim to the end as to "finish" the book.

[Lilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I read this (it's 2015 now) but I remember laughing that much of the advice was what I heard from my way-down-south Peruvian mom who insisted that I know how to act like a lady (whether I always remembered is debatable). But I knew. And really, I wish more girls were taught these things today.

[Ash P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing but great things to say about this book! I laughed the entire way through. Now that I'm finished, I'm walking away with more southern charm than I had before. Plus many delicious southern recipes that makes up for what I'm still lacking!

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining hilarious collection of sage advice collected by talented southern writer from her mama, with quotes from others. Includes recipes best described as "typically southern;" authentically tasty, but not exactly healthy and certaining not vegan/vegetarian. Laugh out loud funny.

[Melyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book definitely made me laugh out loud many times. I've heard some of these things from my own Southern mama! Some of it felt a little repetitive, but overall I enjoyed it.