Overview

In this anthology of creative nonfiction, twenty-eight writers set out to discover what they know, and don't know, about the person they call Mother. Celebrated writers Lee Smith and Samia Serageldin have curated a diverse and insightful collection that challenges stereotypes about mothers and expands our notions of motherhood in the South. The mothers in these essays were shaped, for good and bad, by the economic and political crosswinds of their time. Whether their formative experience was the Great Depression or the upheavals of the 1970s, their lives reflected their era and influenced how they raised their children. The writers in Mothers and Strangers explore the reliability of memory, examine their family dynamics, and come to terms with the past. In addition to the editors, contributors include Belle Boggs, Marshall Chapman, Hal Crowther, Clyde Edgerton, Marianne Gingher, Jaki Shelton Green, Sally Greene, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Eldridge """"Redge"""" Hanes, Lynden Harris, Randall Kenan, Phillip Lopate, Michael Malone, Frances Mayes, Jill McCorkle, Melody Moezzi, Elaine Neil Orr, Steven Petrow, Margaret Rich, Omid Safi, James Seay, Alan Shapiro, Bland Simpson, Sharon K. Swanson, and Daniel Wallace.

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9781469651675

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Reviews

It is striking to observe, again and again, how the unique character of any mother reverberates, in ways small and large, in the lives of her children. . . . There can never be too many mother essays in the world for me.--Chapter 16

Readers will remember and discover throughout this collection. They will recall stories told and retold in their family's legacy and possibly trip over ones that have deliberately been left unmentioned. Readers will marvel at the beauty of their hearts first and forever cry: 'Mama.'--All About Women Magazine A great collection of essays on mothers by your favorite Southern writers.--Livin' Upstate [The essays] are readers' treasures. Short, written crisply by some of the region's best authors, each one gives an inside look at the writer's private life and how the mother faced and dealt with different sets of challenges, ones that have, for better or worse, helped make the writings of each author what they are today.--D.G. Martin, One on One Is there literary territory more vast than motherhood? This collection of essays, edited by Samia Serageldin and Lee Smith, delivers such varied portraits within its broad scope.--Chapel Hill Magazine Samia Serageldin and Lee Smith have curated a diverse and thoughtful collection that challenges stereotypes about mothers and expands our notions of motherhood in the South.--Augusta Chronicle The essays and pieces in this book were so fascinating and the voices were so vibrant. Stories about growing up, changing relationships with mothers, becoming a mother, and everything in between.--Book Riot It is striking to observe, again and again, how the unique character of any mother reverberates, in ways small and large, in the lives of her children. . . . There can never be too many mother essays in the world for me.--Chapter 16

Author Information

Lee Smith is the best-selling author of over a dozen books, including Dimestore: A Writer's Life and Guests on Earth. She lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Samia Serageldin is the author of several books, including The Cairo House and Love Is Like Water, and is an editor of South Writ Large. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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