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I never received the book I ordered from Amazon. I tell people not use Amazon be cause paid for a product and never received it. I needed the book for class so I ordered it from Barnes and Noble and received it within two days at a much cheAper price. Amazon's delivery charges Are inflated also. Their customer service said it is the third parties responsibility to send my money or the book. How convenient.
"Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" is probably the most moving autobiography I've ever read. Perhaps it is because Ray and I are the same age or perhaps because our backgrounds are eerily similar, but I feel a connection and a deeper understanding and appreciation for where she's coming from and who she is. Ray writes lovingly of how nature slowly reclaims the wrecked hulks of cars in her father's junkyard; nature slowly, steadily winning over man and man's folly.
Looking back with a mix of fondness and acceptance rather than anger, Ray looks at how her environment (built and natural, as well as home) shaped who she became. In some respects the chapters are by turns explanations and a badge of honor rather than excuses. By turns heartbreaking, inspirational, and motivational, Ray's story is one of an outsider in every respect; the daughter of a junkyard owner in rural Georgia, she faces a number of obstacles including her father's precarious mental stability.
Along the way she recounts unusual tales of her difficult path to adulthood that are profoundly moving. Ray intersperses the book with chapters on long-leaf pines, gopher tortoises, and other uniquely Southern flora and fauna that is endangered and rapidly disappearing. While it may be jarring to the reader, Ray is making a larger point; we are forcing the environment to adapt or die to suit our needs rather than adapting to the environment.
Her recounting of a rare visit to the North will likely register profoundly with any Southerner who has ventured there. Ray is unabashedly unapologetic and "Ecology" will alternately move you to fits of laughter and sometimes nearly to tears, but it will not leave you unmoved.
"Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" is probably the most moving autobiography I've ever read. Perhaps it is because Ray and I are the same age or perhaps because our backgrounds are eerily similar, but I feel a connection and a deeper understanding and appreciation for where she's coming from and who she is. Ray writes lovingly of how nature slowly reclaims the wrecked hulks of cars in her father's junkyard; nature slowly, steadily winning over man and man's folly.
Looking back with a mix of fondness and acceptance rather than anger, Ray looks at how her environment (built and natural, as well as home) shaped who she became. In some respects the chapters are by turns explanations and a badge of honor rather than excuses. By turns heartbreaking, inspirational, and motivational, Ray's story is one of an outsider in every respect; the daughter of a junkyard owner in rural Georgia, she faces a number of obstacles including her father's precarious mental stability.
Along the way she recounts unusual tales of her difficult path to adulthood that are profoundly moving. Ray intersperses the book with chapters on long-leaf pines, gopher tortoises, and other uniquely Southern flora and fauna that is endangered and rapidly disappearing. While it may be jarring to the reader, Ray is making a larger point; we are forcing the environment to adapt or die to suit our needs rather than adapting to the environment.
Her recounting of a rare visit to the North will likely register profoundly with any Southerner who has ventured there. Ray is unabashedly unapologetic and "Ecology" will alternately move you to fits of laughter and sometimes nearly to tears, but it will not leave you unmoved.
"Ecology of a Cracker Childhood" is probably the most moving autobiography I've ever read. Perhaps it is because Ray and I are the same age or perhaps because our backgrounds are eerily similar, but I feel a connection and a deeper understanding and appreciation for where she's coming from and who she is. Ray writes lovingly of how nature slowly reclaims the wrecked hulks of cars in her father's junkyard; nature slowly, steadily winning over man and man's folly.
Looking back with a mix of fondness and acceptance rather than anger, Ray looks at how her environment (built and natural, as well as home) shaped who she became. In some respects the chapters are by turns explanations and a badge of honor rather than excuses. By turns heartbreaking, inspirational, and motivational, Ray's story is one of an outsider in every respect; the daughter of a junkyard owner in rural Georgia, she faces a number of obstacles including her father's precarious mental stability.
Along the way she recounts unusual tales of her difficult path to adulthood that are profoundly moving. Ray intersperses the book with chapters on long-leaf pines, gopher tortoises, and other uniquely Southern flora and fauna that is endangered and rapidly disappearing. While it may be jarring to the reader, Ray is making a larger point; we are forcing the environment to adapt or die to suit our needs rather than adapting to the environment.
Her recounting of a rare visit to the North will likely register profoundly with any Southerner who has ventured there. Ray is unabashedly unapologetic and "Ecology" will alternately move you to fits of laughter and sometimes nearly to tears, but it will not leave you unmoved.
This book was very interesting as to the mindset of the people but also to the loss of the longleaf pine and all that depended on it for survival. Very insightful to nature and human nature.
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