Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
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Average rating5
15
Ratings2
Average rating5
"A gutsy, wholly original memoir of ragged grace and raw beauty." --Kirkus Reviews (STARRED) From the memories of a childhood marked by extreme poverty, mental illness, and restrictive fundamentalist Christian rules, Janisse Ray crafted a memoir that has inspired thousands to embrace their beginnings, no matter how humble, and fight for the places they love. This edition, published on the fifteenth anniversary of the original publication, updates and contextualizes the story for a new generation and a wider audience desperately searching for stories of empowerment and hope. Janisse Ray grew up in a junkyard along U.S. Highway 1, hidden from Florida-bound travelers by hulks of old cars. In language at once colloquial, elegiac, and informative, Ray redeems her home and her people, while also cataloging the source of her childhood hope: the Edenic longleaf pine forests, where orchids grow amid wiregrass at the feet of widely spaced, lofty trees. Today, the forests exist in fragments, cherished and threatened, and the South of her youth is gradually being overtaken by golf courses and suburban development. A contemporary classic, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood is a clarion call to protect the cultures and ecologies of every childhood.
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Fantastic read! Growing up in SC, this book was like reading about my own childhood at times, sharing much of the same flora and fauna as well as the same Southern ways. I highly recommend giving this a read if you grew up in the Southeastern US, particularly around ‘50-‘80, or are eager to read a passionate recollection of growing up in that period.
Living here all my life, I can truly feel the love Ray has for this land and just how well she has learned it over the years. So many observations she made hit home and I couldn't agree more with her views on this flat, predictable, vulnerable landscape. I share many of her loves and worries, and truly hope that we can find a way to preserve our unique ecosystems for future generations.
