All Over but the Shoutin’ – by Rick Bragg
FROM AMAZON’S BOOK DESCRIPTION:
“This haunting, harrowing, gloriously moving recollection of a life on the American margin is the story of Rick Bragg, who grew up dirt-poor in northeastern Alabama, seemingly destined for either the cotton mills or the penitentiary, and instead became a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times. It is the story of Bragg’s father, a hard-drinking man with a murderous temper and the habit of running out on the people who needed him most.
But at the center of this soaring memoir is Bragg’s mother, who went eighteen years without a new dress so that her sons could have school clothes and picked other people’s cotton so that her children wouldn’t have to live on welfare alone. Evoking these lives–and the country that shaped and nourished them–with artistry, honesty, and compassion, Rick Bragg brings home the love and suffering that lie at the heart of every family. The result is unforgettable.”
FIRST SENTENCE:
(Prologue) “I use to stand amazed and watch the redbirds fight.”
MEMORABLE MOMENTS:
(page 25) “The only thing poverty does is grind down your nerve endings to a point that you can work harder and stoop lower than most people are willing to. It chips away a person’s dreams to the point that the hopelessness shows through, and the dreamer accepts that hard work and borrowed houses are all this life will ever be. While my mother will stare you dead in the eye and say she never thought of herself as poor, do not believe for one second that she did not see the rest of the world, the better world, spinning around her, out of reach.”
(page 161) “I was too damn dumb to know that a swagger is a silly walk for a man with yet a long way to go.”
MY THOUGHTS:
This book has been on my shelf for quite awhile (the second to last step up Mount TBR, though I’ve already posted my final book). I got it after asking several folks which Rick Bragg book they thought was the best. I’d always enjoyed the columns he wrote in Southern Living Magazine and wanted to read more in depth. You may remember earlier in the year I read a collection of his essays for another challenge.
I was not at all disappointed in this book – it was everything I expected, and more. I’ll admit the first 100 or so pages were hard reading, but only because of the subject matter. It was an eye-opening glimpse into poverty, told from the viewpoint of a man only a year younger than myself. I’ve mostly lived an easy, comfortable life (though that can vary by definition and some of my experiences might qualify otherwise), so I sometimes struggled emotionally with what he wrote about. The chapters on his life as a reporter and the stories he covered were fascinating and often quite moving. Add to that, the love and respect he has for his mother shines through in his writing. I can understand why he won a Pulitzer…the man has great talent!
It’s a book I can easily see folks being of two minds about, so I’ll be curious to know how my fellow club members felt about it. I’m predicting there will be mixed reviews.
***************
It was a damp, dreary evening and a couple of the regulars were out of town, but we still had a good group of seven. Our hostess served up homemade soup (two varieties!) and a decadent looking cake for dessert. It set the scene for an intimate discussion around the table once we’d eaten.
Not everyone had finished the book, but those who had, agreed with my assessment above. It was also noted that the first part was necessary in order to get the full understanding of Bragg as a person. That led to much discussion, including some personal stories, about some of the hardships of growing up and the events that shape our lives. Not necessarily an easy book, at times, but one worth the effort overall.
Kelly
Kelly's Thoughts & Ramblings 
Just added it to my shopping cart over on Amazon. I will go ahead and order it when I start doing Santa duties!
I started off life dirt poor and was heading towards worse things when my parents divorced. When my mom remarried a couple years later, we were still poor but a different type of poor, the better kind. Eventually we got out of that and now my parents are probably considered well-to-do by their peers. I shudder sometimes thinking about how close I was to “heading towards worse things”.
By: Ed on November 8, 2017
at 12:39 pm
One of our members works with youth/children in a mental health facility here and she had some interesting observations about the role our upbringings have on us. Bragg has two brothers (he’s the middle child) and it’s interesting seeing the different roads each took. I’m glad yours got on the right path!
By: Kelly on November 8, 2017
at 6:51 pm
We were always considered by our peers, to be relatively rich when we were growing up, as my parents had a mortgage and were buying their own house, rather than renting council housing. We, (my brother and myself) on the other hand, always considered ourselves to be poor, as there was never any money to spare for the treats which the council house children always seemed to have. My dad’s aim in life was always to stay out of debt, pay his way as he went and provide the basics for his family by working as many hours a week as he could! It is only now that I realise just how well off we really were, when I think back to how the families of some school friends actually used to live.
The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ did seem to close a little in the 80s and 90s, but now the differences are there for all to see and the gap is growing wider every day, so I still consider myself lucky to have a paid for roof over my head, enough to eat, warmth when I need it and the support of a hard working husband as the glue which holds everything together.
I don’t generally read memoirs and this one sounds very heart-rending, thought provoking and distressing. The perfect discussion material for a book club and I like the way you describe it as ‘events that shaped our lives’ – that sums it up perfectly!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yvonne
By: Fiction-Books (@Fiction_Books) on November 8, 2017
at 1:49 pm
As you said, Yvonne, it can seem completely different looking back on our lives from a different perspective. We did talk about the fact money can provide security and opportunity, but doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness. There’s something to be said for the security of a loving parent and, in Bragg’s case, not only did he have a self-sacrificing mother, he had some mighty fine kinfolk to help them out, too.
He’s an extremely talented writer and I can definitely understand why he won a Pulitzer. There’s no doubt his upbringing molded him into the empathetic man that comes through in his writing and reporting.
Eventually, I want to read his book about his paternal grandfather, Ava’s Man.
By: Kelly on November 8, 2017
at 6:59 pm
It’s a great book. Glad you got around to reading it. My favorite of his is still “Ava’s Man” but I also like “The Best They Ever Had” which is a love story about a cotton mill!
By: Jeff G on November 8, 2017
at 8:18 pm
You’ve inspired me to put Ava’s Man on my Amazon wish list! The other looks interesting, too, and may well make its way there at some point.
By: Kelly on November 9, 2017
at 10:09 am
Kelly,
From what both you and Amazon said,
this would be a deeply poignant/heart-
wrenching, thought provoking and
harrowing book. I think that your first
memorable moment offered a glimpse
of the author’s empathy, insight and
talent.And I will definitely add this book
to my list.
Raven
By: stardustraven on November 8, 2017
at 10:07 pm
It’s one of those books that just gets better and better in retrospect… especially after discussing it with others.
By: Kelly on November 9, 2017
at 10:14 am
I think you already know what a fan I am of this writer. This was the first of anything I ever read by him and I loved it. I got to see and hear him speak a couple of years ago and it was a real treat. And yes by all means put “Ava’s Man” on your list.
By: Bob on November 9, 2017
at 3:17 pm
I imagine he would be a wonderful author to hear at an event. Another friend got to meet him at a book signing and said she probably made a fool of herself in the process. I bet he’s fun in real life.
By: Kelly on November 9, 2017
at 3:21 pm
If I wasn’t convinced by the Description your Memorable Moment confirmed that this is a book that, though I’d find it hard going in places, I’d ultimately get a lot out of if not exactly enjoy.
By: Tracy Terry on November 14, 2017
at 9:23 am
I’m thinking you like memoirs? This really is good, and despite its tough content in places, I can honestly use the word “enjoy” for how I felt about it. His writing is always a treat.
By: Kelly on November 14, 2017
at 9:59 am