Nonfiction | Chapter 16

Coming Out of the Shadows

By Maria Browning

January 16, 2013

January 16, 2013 Vanderbilt professor Charlotte Pierce-Baker didn’t understand what was happening to her bright, creative son when he first began to behave erratically. As rages, delusions, and substance abuse made his illness obvious, Pierce-Baker and her husband struggled to help him. In This Fragile Life: A Mother’s Story of a Bipolar Son, Pierce-Baker recounts the family’s long ordeal and her journey to understanding that “bipolar is forever.” Charlotte Pierce-Baker will read from the book at Vanderbilt University on January 17 at 7 p.m. in Wilson Hall, Room 126. The event is free and open to the public.

Gender Bender

By Sarah Norris

January 15, 2013

January 15, 2013 “I’m not quite one of those ‘born in the wrong body’ types you see on Oprah or The Learning Channel,” T Cooper writes. “I actually think I was born in the right body. It’s just a little different, and it doesn’t fit squarely into the gender binary.” Cooper will read from and discuss his new memoir, Real Man Adventures, at Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 17 at 6:30 p.m. On March 11, Cooper will also read at the University of Tennessee’s Hodges Library. Both events are free and open to the public.

A House of God, Divided

By Tim Boyd

January 14, 2013

January 14, 2013 Any good history of desegregation highlights the unique circumstances of a particular incident without losing sight of the general social transformation it was a part of. Rhodes College professor Stephen R. Haynes has managed to do exactly that in his new book, The Last Segregated Hour: The Memphis Kneel-Ins and the Campaign for Southern Church Desegregation, which provides a thorough and engaging overview of the struggle to integrate the Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis. Haynes will appear at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on January 22 at 6 p.m.

Death in Murfreesboro

By Chris Scott

January 9, 2013

January 9, 2013 Historian Larry J. Daniel believes it is time to set the record straight about one of the turning points of the Civil War. In Battle of Stones River: The Forgotten Conflict between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland, Daniel details a fight that is counted as one of the ten costliest battles of the war and that firmly established Union control in Tennessee.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

By Tom Markham

January 2, 2013

“Drawing from public and private collections of vintage postcards, Adam H. Alfrey, curator of exhibitions at the East Tennessee History Center, illustrates how a rallying cry for preservation, pleasure, and profit sustained a successful grassroots campaign to create Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States.”

—From the publisher

The Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die (and the Recipes That Made Them Famous)

By Tom Markham

January 2, 2013

“The Southern Foodie shows you where the South eats and how to create those distinct flavors at home. You’re sure to rediscover old favorites and get a closer look at the delicious new traditions in Southern cuisine.”

—From the publisher

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker